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A 

DICTIONARY OF NAPOLEON 

AND HIS TIMES 



A DICTIONARY OF 

NAPOLEON 

and His Times 



BY 

HUBERT N. B. RICHARDSON, B.A. 



With Maps, Plans, a, Chronological Table 
and a Classified Bibliography 



New York 
FUNK AND WAGNALLS COMPANY 

/?5 



c '7o< • 



CvM -2 



'n 



K 



To 

My Esteemed Friend 

Ernest A. Baker, M.A., D.Lit. 






PREFACE 



The collection in dictionary form of the material, historical and personal, re- 
lating to the most significant and arresting figure of the modern world will certainly 
appear to those best qualified to judge to be a task of hopeless magnitude and 
complexity ; and, indeed, the difficulties in the way of the perfect accomplish- 
ment of such a collection are almost insurmountable in view of the unexampled 
mass of literature, good, bad, and indifferent, which has grown up around the 
figure of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Any attempt which aimed at complete inclusion of all the circumstances 
connected with that most marvellous life would be a failure unless it assumed 
the proportions of an encyclopaedia of very large size. No such claim is advanced 
on behalf of this work, the object of which is to present in popular yet exact 
form for ready reference a general survey of the Napoleonic period, both as regards 
its central luminary and the numerous satellites, scarcely less brilliant, who 
circled round him. Particulars of the personality of Napoleon and all that recent 
research has discovered with reference to the more obscure episodes in his career 
have been carefully examined and collated ; the campaigns necessitated by his 
policy ; the commercial,, political, and artistic developments of his reign ; 
biographical matter relating to his family from the earliest recorded member 
thereof down to its latest scions ; the political circumstances of the various 
countries with which he had warlike or pacific relations ; his habits and 
idiosyncrasies ; the great leaders who served or failed him ; his more private 
life ; his relations with his secretaries and valets ; the women he loved ; and 
the contemporaries, laudatory, veracious, or scurrilous, who set do\vn their 
reminiscences of him — all are included in this work, which, if not encj^clopaedic, 
may at least claim to be comprehensive. 

Many of the biographies are of considerable length, but the plan throughout 
has been to give extended treatment only to matters of interest and value, and 
severely to condense anything which does not approximate to that standard. 
The work has been written in a spirit which the author believes he is justified 
in claiming is absolutely without bias of any sort : but that is not to say that 
it is non-controversial. A work of reference should not lend itself too much to 
argument ; but level acquiescence in the views advanced and in the deductions 
drawn by standard authorities where these do not square with personal conviction 
is characteristic of the compiler who attempts nothing further than the mere 
mechanical collection of materials upon which, as is too often the case, his dis- 
abilities prevent any direct comment or illustration. Such criticism as has been 



VI 



Preface 



incorporated with the historical and biographical matter in this work has sedu- 
lously striven to avoid personal predilection and has, so far as the author is aware, 
been confined more to measures than to men and more to the spirit that actuated 
the various movements than to the persons who instituted them. 

Beside the large amount of information concerning the Emperor himself, 
his personality, habits, and character, the biographies of every member of the 
Bonaparte family and of the great men and women who clustered around 
Napoleon, this Dictionary of Napoleon throws light on the social and political 
tendencies of his time, its art, literature, and industries. The military career 
of the Emperor is fully treated ; every battle and engagement of any importance 
is separately indexed, in a number of cases maps and plans being supplied ; and 
the great campaigns have been chronicled more exhaustively under their usual 
designations. 

The various memoirs of Napoleon's life have been summarized and reviewed 
at length, many of them for the first time ; a Chronological Table dealing with 
every important event in the Emperor's life and time has been added, as has 
also a select Classified Bibliography giving all the more useful, authoritative, 
and accessible books on the various stages and incidents in Napoleon's career, 
thus furnishing the English reader with a ready key to further study. 

It may be mentioned here that, in order to save space and what would have 
been a somewhat wearisome reiteration. Napoleon has throughout the text been 
referred to by his initial, " N." 

In conclusion the author would express the hope that this volume, besides 
providing the general reader with a fairly extensive view of a great figure and a 
spacious period, may also yield assistance to the serious student of Napoleana 
as a book of reference to the salient facts of the Emperor's career. 

H N. B. R. 

Edinburgh. 



LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS 

PAGE 

The Battle of Austerlitz ......... 22 

The Battle of Copenhagen . . . . . . . . .135 

Corsica ............. 137 

The Campaigns in Egypt and Syria . . . . . . .154 

Elba ............. 159 

The Battle of Eylau 175 

The Hohenlinden Campaign ......... 209 

The Campaigns in Northern Italy ....... 220 

The Battles of the Jena Campaign . . . . . . .229 

Leipsic : the First Day's Battle ........ 268 

The Battle of the Nile ......... 328 

Spain and Portugal, illustrating the Peninsular War . . . 343 

The Battles of the Pyrenees ........ 366 

The Russian Campaign 

(i) The March on Moscow . . , 378 

(ii) The Retreat .......... 379 

St. Helena ............ 385 

The Swiss Campaigns . . . . . . . . . .411 

The Siege of Toulon .......... 428 

The Battle of Trafalgar ......... 430 

The Waterloo Campaign 

(i) The French and Belgian Frontier, 18 15 445 

(ii) The Battle of Quatre Bras . . . . . . .448 

(iii) The Battle of Ligny ........ 450 

(iv) The Battle of Waterloo, 11.50 a.m. ...... 453 

(v) „ „ „ 2 p.m 455 

(vi) „ „ „ 7-45 P-m 456 

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 467 

SELECT CLASSIFIED BIBLIOGRAPHY 481 



A DICTIONARY OF NAPOLEON 
AND HIS TIMES 



Abdication, N.'s First (1814).— 

Twice prior to his first abdication 
did the Allies endeavour to discuss 
terms of peace with N. {see Frankfort 
Proposals and Congress of Chatil- 
lon), but the Emperor seems to have 
had little faith in their sincerity, and 
although, in order to gain time, he 
pretended to consider the proposals put 
forward, he had no real intention 
of agreeing to them. Moreover, he 
still dreamed of ultimate triumph. 
During the months of February and 
March 1814, at the head of Ms 
forces, N. was engaged in a hopeless 
attempt to conquer two armies, each 
of which outnumbered his own. His 
efforts failed, Paris capitulated, and 
the Allies triumphantly entered the 
city on 31 March. Marie Louise 
had been left iin Paris as Regent, with 
a council, and it was N.'s desire that 
she and his little son should remain 
there until all resistance should have 
become impossiible. The council of 
the regency, however, misunderstood 
the Emperor's instructions, owing to 
stupidity 00 the part of Joseph Bona- 
parte, and decided that Marie Louise 
and the King of Rome must leave 
Paris — ^thereby striking a fatal blow 
to the Napoleonic dynasty. 

After their entry linto the capital 
of France the Tsar, the King of 
Prussia, Schwartzenberg and Talley- 
rand met at the house of the last- 
named to consult as to future actions. 
The three principal suggestions put 
forward were : (i) peace with the 
Emperor; (2) a regency for the King 
of Rome under Marie Lou5se ; (3) the 



restoration of the Bourbons. Against 
the first Talleyrand contended that any 
peace with N. would only be tem- 
porary, and the Tsar supported him. 
As for the regency proposal, it was 
agreed that so long as N. lived this 
would be merely a continuation of his 
rule. To the third the Tsar observed 
that the army was still with N., and 
the Bourbons were not favourites ; 
but Talleyrand replied that the sol- 
diers had been fighting for France, 
and would continue to do so. A 
provisional government was formed, 
which deposed N. for having violated 
the constitution, and issued the fol- 
lowing proclamation to the army : 
"Soldiers, you are no longer the 
soldiers of Napoleon ; the Senate and 
the whole of France absolve you from 
your oaths." Paris once again wore 
the white cockade. 

On hearing, late in the evening of 
30 March, of the surrender of Paris, 
N. was furious, and set out to walk 
to Paris, anathematizing Marmont 
and Mortier for giving way. He was, 
however, convinced that his proposed 
action would be useless and danger- 
ous, and General Flahault was dis- 
patched to ask Marmont's advice, 
Caulaincourt to the Tsar, while the 
Emperor returned to Fontainebleau. 
Caulaincourt had interviews both with 
the Tsar and Schwartzenberg, and 
brought word to N. that peace would 
be considered only on the condition of 
hig abdication. The morning follow- 
ing his minister's return, N. held a 
review of his troops, and appealed to 
their fidelity, which, although it was 
already undermined, and one of his 
greatest marshals had become a Judas, 



ABDiCATIOiM 

stood this test. N. continued his pre- 
parations to march on Paris, but his 
plans were received in silence by his 
generals — whoi saw his cause was 
hopeless and now desired peace. 
With Caulaincourt 'he drew) up the 
following- form of abdication in 
favour of his son : " The Allied 
Powers .having- proclaimed that the 
Emperor Napoleon was the only 
obstacle to the re-establishment of 
peace in Europe, the Emperor Napo- 
leon, faithful to Wis oath, declares 
that he is ready to descend from the 
throne, to leave France, and even to 
give up his life, for the welfare of the 
country, inseparable from the rights of 
hlis son, of the regency of the Em- 
press, and of the laws of the Empire." 
An embassy was dispatched to Paris 
with this document and received by 
the Tsar, who listened carefully and 
sympathetically to what Caulaincourt 
had toi say in support of his mission. 
The latter based his case upon the 
fidelity of the army to their chief and 
the unpopularlity of the Bourbons with 
the people. At one time it almost 
deemed as if the Tsar wavered; but 
he well knew that his Allies would 
refuse to consider a Napoleonic 
regency, so he temporized, saying 
that he must consult the other 
Powers. Meantime news came of 
the defection of Marmont's men, 
and with the argument of the faith- 
fulness of the army thus set at 
naught, the Tsar was in a position 
to demand an unconditional abdica- 
tion. 

N., who did not believe that his 
offer would be accepted by the Allies, 
continued to make plans for an alter- 
native course of action, so that when 
his emissaries returned with the in- 
formation that a Napoleonic reg-ency 
would not be considered, and that 
Louis XVIII. was to be proclaimed 
king, he spoke to them of his pre- 
parations, saying that war was better 
than such a peace. But the embassy 
was now royalist in sympathy, and 
demanded his absolute surrender. At 
last +he Emperor g-ave way, and on 
II April wrote out the act of un- 
conditional abdication, as foltows : 
"The Allied Powers having- proclaimed 
that the Emperor Napoleon was the 



ABDICATION 

only obstacle to the re-establishment 
of peace in Europe, the Emperor 
Napoleon, faithful to his oath, declares 
that he renounces for himself and his 
heirs the thrones of France and Italy, 
because there is no personal sacrifice, 
even were it of life itself, which he is 
not ready to make to the interest of 
France." That night, according to 
some authorities, N. tried to end his 
life (see Suicide, N's Attempt at), but 
much mystery surrounds the actual 
details. Thus did the great Em- 
peror withdraw for the time being 
from the scenes of his triumph, forced 
thereto no doubt, yet retaining his 
dignity. As he said to Bausset, 
"J'abdique et ne chde rien," and it is 
more than likely that the thought was 
in his mind that one day he might 
return. 

The Treaty of Fontainebleau (q.i'.) 
was signed on 13 April, and on the 
2oth N. left Fontainebleau for Elba. 
"Continue to serve France," was the 
theme of his farewell address to those 
of the Old Guard who were faithful to 
him, after which he pressed the 
standard of the imperial eagle to his 
lips and entered the waiting carriage 
which was to take him the first stage 
of his journev to Elba. 

The Empress and the King of 
Rome had left Paris on 29 March, 
reaching Blois on 2 April, whence they 
went to Orleans, by order of the Tsar 
Alexander, who wished to bring the 
Imperial couple together. But Marie 
Lx)uise could not understand N. 's un- 
willingness to involve her in his down- 
fall, or his instructions as to depend- 
ing on her father, so she finally 
obeyed the latter's command to meet 
him at Rambouillet, thence to return 
to Austria. 

Abdication, N.'s Second (18I5>.— 
On 21 June 181 5, three days after 
Waterloo, N. arrived in Partis broken 
in body and mind, though not utterly 
devoid, of hope. He had given orders 
that the remnants of his army should 
rally at Laon, and, perhaps from mere 
habit, had issued bulletins for its re- 
organization, with the idea that even 
now France might stand firm against 
a common danger. By the time he 
reached the Elysee rumour was busy 
regarding his defeat, and consterna- 



ABDICATION 

tion prevailed in the city. Davout, 
Carnot, and Lucien advised N. to 
dismiss the Chambers and institute a 
dictatorship, but N. was in no condi- 
tion to make such a decision, and still 
harboured the idea that war might be 
continued. He proposed to raise a 
levde en masse to defend Paris, but the 
ministers O'bjected, being" naturally un- 
willing to continue an unequal and 
disastrous struggle with no other 
object, as they realized, than to keep 
N. on his throne. He lit was, not 
France, who^m Europe strove against, 
and peace would follow his abdication. 
The Chambers took immediate steps tO' 
frustrate any attempt to dissolve them. 
Lucien advised civil war, but the 
Emperor saw the folly of such a 
course, and decided to abdicate. On 
22 June N. signed an abdication in 
favour of his son — a imere form, as his 
son was in Austria — and on the 26th 
he quitted Paris and retired to Mal- 
maison. His intention now seems to 
have been to go to the United States, 
and on the 23rd he had written to the 
Minister of Marine asking that twO' 
frigates might be placed at his dis- 
posal. Over a question of passports 
this request was not granted for 
several days, not indeed until news 
reached the French Government that 
N. was in real danger of capture by a 
column of Prussians who had orders to 
take him "dead or alive." At the 
eleventh hour, N. made a last attempt 
to gain permission to lead French 
troops against the Allies. He had 
followed the latter's advance, and per- 
ceived that an exposed position would 
now favour the French, so on the 29th 
he sent a message to the Provisional 
Government offering to command the 
army as a simple general, and 
promising on his honour to begin his 
journey to the States on the day he de- 
feated the enemy. This appeal was, 
however, refused, and on the same day 
N. fled fro-m Malmaison, going to 
Rochefort, too late, however, to 
escape, as British cruisers now 
watched the harbour. Various plans 
were proposed to enable N. to evade 
the vigilance of the British Navy, but 
none was actuallv attempted, and N. 
determined to throw himself upon the 
eenerositv of England, deeming sur- 



ABENSBERG 

render a fitter termination to his career 
than ignominious capture — aware, 
moreover, that he would get no mercy 
from France or Prussia. By N.'s de- 
sire, communication was opened up 
with Captain Maitland of the Bellero- 
phon, which resulted in the Emperor's 
embarkation on that vessel on 15 July, 
the captain having consented to take 
him to England. Meantime N. had 
dictated the following letter to the 
Prince Regent : 

" Royal Highness, 

"A victim to the factions which 
divide my country and to the enmity 
of the greatest Powers of Europe, I 
have terminated my political career, 
and I come, like Themistocles, to place 
myself at the hearth of the British 
people. I place myself under the pro- 
tection of their laws, which I claim of 
your Royal Highness as the most 
powerful, the most constant, and the 
most generous of my enemies. 

"Napoleon." 

There is little room for doubt that 
N. hoped to be treated as a guest by 
England, but the British Government 
decided to consider him as a prisoner 
of war — the man whose ambition had 
caused such disaster could scarcely 
expect to be treated wfth leniency in 
the interests of European peace. On 
the 24th the Bellerophon arrived at 
Torbay, going thence to Plymouth, at 
both of Vv-hich towns crowds of people 
tried to catch a glimpse of the ex- 
Emperor. On the 31st word came 
that N. was to be sent to St. Helena, 
which was considered a suitable place 
and sufficiently remote. He received 
this information on the whole calmly, 
but his suite were loud in their remon- 
strances. A convention was passed by 
the four Powers, declaring N.^ their 
common prisoner, with Britain as 
jailer, and on 7 Aug. N. set sail on 
the Northumherland for his prison on 
St. Helena. 

Abel, Mrs.— See Balcombe 
Family. 

Afienstoerg, Battle of (Wagram 
Campaign).- The main French Army 
under Davout and the Austrians under 
the Archduke Charles came into colli- 
sion near Abensberg on 19 April 1809, 



3 



ABOUKIR 

and although the latter made a brave 
stand they were driven back with 
great slaughter. At the same time a 
force of Austrians on its way to attack 
the flank of the French left was met 
by a Franco-Bavarian force under 
Lefebvre, and was also defeated. 

Aboukir, Battleof (1).— A battle of 
the French invasion of Egypt, fought 
on 25 July 1799, between the 
French Expeditionary Army under N. 
and Turks to the number of 18,000 
under Mustapha Pasha. The French 
were entirely successful. 

Aboukir, Battle of (2).— A battle 
of the British invasion of Egypt, 
fought on 8 March 1801, between 
5,000 British under Sir Ralph Aber- 
cromby and 2,000 French under General 
Friant. A landing was effected by the 
British, though at a considerable cost, 
and the French driven from their 
positions. 

Aboukir, Battle of (3).— See 
Nile, Battle of the. 

Abrantes, Duchesse d'. — See 

JUNOT, LaURE. 

Acre, Siege of.— An incident of 
the French; invasion of Egypt. The 
city was besieged by the French under 
N. from 17 March to 21 May 1799, 
when N. was forced to raise the 
siege. Acre was defended by the 
Turks under Djezzar Pasha and a 
small force of British seamen under 
Sir Sidney Smith. 

Aix-la-Chapelie, Battle of. — A 
battle of the wars of the French 
Revolutiiofn, fought oni 3 March 1795. 
The opponents were the French under 
Miranda and the Austrians under the 
Prince of Saxe-Coburg. The former 
were totally defeated. 

Aix-la-Chapelle, Congress of.— 
In the autumn of 1818 the representa- 
tives of Great Britain, Russia, Austria 
and Prussia, met at Aix-la-Chapelle 
for the purpose of coming to a decision 
regarding the withdrawal of the army 
of occupation from France, and to 
confer regarding the relations of the 
four Powers towards each other and 
towards France. Its first session was 
held on i Oct., and was attended by 
Alexander I. of Russia, Frederick 
William III. of Prussia, Francis I. of 
Austria, the Duke of Wellington and 
Lord Castlereagh for Great Britain, 



AJACCIO 

Metternich for Austria, Count Nessel- 
rode and Count Capo d'l stria for 
Russia, Prince Hardenberg and Count 
Bernstorf for Prussia, whilst the Due 
de Richelieu was present to watch proi- 
ceedings on behalf of France. The 
evacuation of that country was agreed 
to, and the treaty to that effect was 
signed on the 9th of the month. The 
real business of the Allies having been 
so speedily dispatched, the Congress 
next considered the questions of the 
form to be taken by the European 
Alliance, and what military measures, 
if any, were to be adopted in the event 
of a fresh outbreak on the part of 
France. Great Britain strongly 
opposed the suggestion made by the 
Emperor Alexander that a "universal 
union of guarantee " should be estab- 
lished on the basis of the Holy 
Alliance, but after considerable discus- 
sion a secret protocol was signed con- 
firming and renewing the quadruple 
alliance established by the Treaty of 
Paris against France. The Powers 
also made public a declaration of their 
intention to maintain an intimate 
union for the purpose of the preserva- 
tion of peace. Some matters which 
had also been left over consequent 
upon the hurried ending of the Con- 
gress of Vienna, also came up for 
settlement. The most important of 
these was as to the methods to be 
adopted for the suppression of the 
slave trade and the Alger ine pirates, 
but all conference broke down on these 
questions owing to the refusal of the 
other Powers to agree with the British 
proposal for reciprocal right of search 
at sea, and the objection of Great 
Britain to such international action as 
would have permitted the presence of a 
Russian squadron in Mediterranean 
waters. The treatment of N. at St. 
Helena was also brought up, but in a 
most perfunctory manner. The Con- 
gress broke up at the end of Nov- 
ember. 

Ajaccio : N.'s Native Town. — It 
lies to the west of Corsica at the north- 
em end of the gulf of the same name, 
on a tongue of land at the point of 
which stands the castle. The situation 
greatly resembles that of Naples, the 
atmosphere, verdure, and climate in- 
tensifying the resemblance. Ajaccio 



ALBUERA 

is said to be one of the oldest towns 
in the island, fable deriving- its name 
from Ajax, or again from Ajazzo, the 
son of Corso, the Trojan prince who, 
wandering with ^neas to the western 
sea, carried off Sica, a niece of Dido, 
and hence gave the island the name 
of Corsica. The ancient town of 
Urcinium, mentioned by Ptolemy, was 
situated on the Gulf of Ajaccio, but the 
site of that ancient place was not that 
of the modern town. It stood on a 
hill, San Giovanni, farther north of 
the Gulf. The ruins disappeared long 
ag-o, but in the surrounding vineyards 
there are many Roman remains, 
among which vessels of terra-cotta and 
sepulchral urns, each containing- a 
skeleton and a key, have been found. 

The new town and its citadel was 
founded by the Bank of Genoa (":ee 
Corsica) in 1492. Not being" the 
capital of the island it was merely the 
seat of the governor's lieutenant, 
though Ajaccio played a large part in 
Genoese rule. In 181 1, at the wish of 
Madame Mhre and Cardinal Fesch, it 
was constituted the capital of Corsica. 
At the time of N.'s birth the town 
possessed about 3,000 inhabitants and 
was enclosed within bastioned walls. 
It boasted of three main streets, the 
Strada Dritta (rechristened the Rue 
Napoldon), the Strada della Fon- 
tanaocia (now the Rue du Roi de 
Rome), and the Strada delle Monarche 
(now Rue Notre Dame). These again 
were connected by other streets, and 
at the corner of two of these, the Rue 
St. Charles, often called in those days 
the Rue Buonaparte, and the Rue 
Letizia, stands the Casa Buonaparte 
{q.v.). 

Ajacc5o is a beautiful spot with 
the blue gulf at its feet and to the 
north the snow-capped mountains, one 
of which is called Pozzo di Borgo. 
Avenues of elm and plane trees 
flourish tog-ether with orange trees, 
and the orchards around are full of 
peach, almond, cherry and plum, while 
everywhere glows the yellow mimosa. 

Albuera, Battle of.— A battle of 
the Peninsular War, fought on 16 May 
181 1. The opposing- forces were the 
French under Marshal Soult and the 
British, Spanish, and Portuguese 
under Marshal Beresford. Through 



ALEXANDER I 

the bravery of the 7,000 British in- 
cluded in the allied forces of 32,000 
men, the French Army of 23,000 
was defeated with a loss of 8,000, Of 
the British only half were left standing-. 

Alessandria, Convention of (15 
June 1800). — This signalized the end 
of the "Campaign of Thirty Days." 
The day after Marengo (14 June) the 
Austrian General, Melas, sent a re- 
quest that hiis representative might 
confer with the First Consul, During 
the course of the day the following 
terms were negotiated and signed be- 
tween the Austrians and the French : 
(i) Suspension of hostilities until the 
terms of convention were ratified at 
Vienna, (2) The Austrians to occupy 
the line extending from Peschiera, on 
the Mincio, to the mouth of the Pou 
Their garrisons in Tuscany would re- 
main there as well as in Ancona. (3) 
The French would hold the territory 
west of the Chiese, the ground be- 
tween the Chliese and the Mincio re- 
maining neutral. (4) On retiring the 
Austrians were to evacuate all the 
fortresses which they occupied within 
these limits. The fortresses of 
Tortona, Alessandria, Milan, Arona, 
and Piacenza were to be delivered up 
between 16 and 20 June; those of 
Ceva, Savona, Coni, and Grenoa be- 
tween the 1 6th and 24th of the same 
month. (5) The Austrian Army would 
retire to the Mincio in three columns 
by way of Piacenza as the citadels 
were evacuated. (6) The artillery in 
the fortresses belonging to the Sar- 
dinian foundries, was assigned to the 
French, the Austrian guns being re- 
stored to the Imperial Army. The 
stores were divided equally between 
both armies. 

Alexander 1(1777-1825).— Emperor 
of Russia ; was born on 28 Dec. 1777, 
and ascended the throne in 1801, His 
was a figure which loomed large in 
the history of Europe during the 
Napoleonic period, and his actions 
deeply affected the fortunes of the 
French Emperor himself. In order to 
understand the part he played in 
affairs, national and international, it 
is necessary briefly to consider his 
character — one of singular complexity, 
full of contradiction and anomalies. 
Ambition and autocracy he combined 



ALEXANDER I 

with a (theoretical) zeal for liberty 
which his weakness of purpose ren- 
dered ineffectual to raise his people 
from serfdom. The same quality of 
indecision destroyed many generous 
impulses of loyalty to political friends 
and justice to political enemies. There 
is nO' doubt that much of his fiery 
enthusiasm was adopted With an eye 
to effect, for Alexander was nothing if 
not a poseur. Add to this that he was 
afflicted by a melancholy which at 
times clouded his reason, and some- 
thing will be understood of the com- 
plexity of his nature. Yet in his 
capacity of diplomat he was admired 
even by his political foes, while tho'se 
who came into personal contact with 
him admitted his chivalrous and noble 
bearing, and the charm of his manners, 
at once simple and sociable. 

On his accession the young Emperor 
flung himself zealously into affairs of 
State. A disciple of La Harpe, he 
attempted the betterment of his people, 
but succeeded only in arousing discon- 
tent. In pursuance of a revised 
foreign policy, he came to terms with 
Great Britain, joined himself with 
Austria, and formed an enduring 
alliance with Prussia, founded on a 
romantic friendship for the sovereigns 
of that country. To this coalition he 
adhered, despite the overtures of N. 
(whom he then regarded as a tyrant 
and an adventurer), through the cam- 
paign of Jena. But after the rout of 
Friedland (1807) N. was in a position 
to make terms. His brilliant per- 
sonality fascinated the impressionable 
Russian Emperor, and an alliance was 
formed between them. Still, however, 
Alexander upheld the Russian and 
Prussian interests against the French, 
and when he found that N. did not 
intend to fulfil his engagements the 
situation became strained, and open 
hostilities followed, culminating in the 
campaign of 1812. Thus were Alexan- 
der's affections finally alienated from 
the French Emperor. 

He played a conspicuous part in the 
partition of Europe at the Congress of 
Vienna, having meanwhile, through the 
agency of some evangelical revivalists, 
become possessed of a genuine but 
fanatical pietism, which coloured his 
future actions. Then, as time went 



ALGECIRAS 

on, and he fell more and more under 
the influence of Metternich, his views 
again began to change, and he for- 
sook to some extent his early liberal- 
ism. On I Dec. 1825 he died. And 
though Russia benefited little, if at all, 
by his reign, he nevertheless stands 
out as one of the most interesting 
figures in her history. 

Alexandria, Battle of. — Was 
fought on 21 March 1801 near the ruins 
of Nioopolis. The British expeditionary 
force (14,000), under Sir Ralph Aber- 
cromby, lay across the isthmus, and at 
3.30 on the morning of the 21st their 
outposts were attacked and driven 
back by the French (20,000) under 
Menou. The British troops withstood 
the French assaults, and about ten 
o'clock the French gave way and re- 
tired on Alexandria. During the heat 
of the battle Sir Ralph Abercromby 
(q.v.) was mortally wounded, but re- 
mained in command until the end of 
the battle. Major-General (afterwards 
Sir) John Moore and three other 
generals were also wounded on the 
British side, which sustained about 
1,400 other casualties. The French 
losses numbered 1,140 killed and about 
3,000 wounded. 

Algeciras Bay, Battle of.— This 
battle consisted of two distinct en- 
gagements between French and 
British squadrons, in the second of 
which the French were assisted by a 
Spanish squadron. 

(i) On 6 July 1801 Sir James 
Saumarez, in command of six British 
ships of the line and two frigates, 
attacked a French squadron of three 
ships of the line and one frigate, under 
Admiral Linois, lying sheltered under 
the formidable coast batteries of 
Almirante and St. lago. Owing to the 
raking fire by the batteries and gun- 
boats Saumarez was compelled to draw 
off, leaving the Hannibal, which had 
run ashore, in the hands of the French. 

(2) On 16 July, ten days later, 
Saumarez again attacked the French, 
who were now assisted by a Spanish 
squadron consisting of six ships of the 
line and three frigates; and, though he 
had only five ships of the line, he suc- 
ceeded in capturing the St. Antoine, 
while the Spanish ships Real Carlos 
and Hermenegildo were blown up, 



AMERICA 

causing the enemy a loss of nearly 
2,000 men, the British loss being only 
17 killed and about 100 wounded. 

America, Bonapartes in. — The 
idea prevails that there are numerous 
sdions of the House of Bonaparte in 
America, and certainly there are many 
people there who consider themselves 
descended from members of the great 
Napoleon's family. But in general the 
claim to such lineage is not substanti- 
ated by good, or even reasonably 
credible, evidence ; and, in fact, the 
only American citizens of the present 
day (1920) who are really entitled to 
be styled kinsmen of Napoleon are 
Charles Joseph Bonaparte and his 
nephew, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Charles Joseph Bonaparte: contem- 
porary politician in America, second 
son of Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte 
and grandson of Jerome, brother of 
N., was born at Baltimore on 9 
June 185 1. He graduated at Har- 
vard University in 1871, and later was 
admitted to the Bar of Maryland. He 
has attained a distinguished position in 
American politics, and among other 
public appointments has been president 
of the National Municipal League. In 
President Roosevelt's Cabinet he held 
the post of Secretary to the Navy from 
I July 1905 till 17 Dec. 1906, when he 
became Attorney-General of the United 
States. 

Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, great 
grandson of the Emp^eror's brother, 
was born in Paris in Feb. 1878, and 
was educated at the Jesuit College of 
Georgetown University and Harvard, 
where he graduated in 1900. He is the 
only son of a brother of Mr. C. J. 
Bonaparte, by name Jerome Napoleon 
Bonaparte, and lives chiefly at New- 
port, Rhode Island, but has not any 
regular profession. He is married, but 
has no family. 

For deceased members of the House 
of Bonaparte in America, see A. Hil- 
liard Atteridge's Napoleon's Brothers, 
Appendix I. (Methuen, 1909). 

Amstetten, Battle of.— A battle 
of the campaign of the Danube, fought 
on 5 Nov, 1805 between the Russians 
and Murat's cavalry with part of 
Lannes' corps. The former were 
defeated with a loss of 1,000 killed, 
wounded and prisoners. 



ANCESTORS 

Ancestors o-f Napoleon, The.— 

Bonaparte is the French form of 
"Buonaparte," the family name of 
Napoleon I., Emperor of the French, 
the Italian spelling being discarded by 
him after the year 1796. The family is 
of Tuscan origin, and the earliest men- 
tion of the name has been traced to the 
year 1261, when a Florentine named 
William took the surname of Bona-, 
parte or Buonaparte. This procedure 
seems to have taken place at the time 
when the Ghibellines, the party to 
which William belonged, had, for a 
while, gained the ascendancy. When, 
later, the Guelfs came into power the 
Buonapartes, together with all their 
party, were persecuted and proscribed ; 
the family then seems to have scat- 
tered, the two most prominent 
branches, as they afterwards proved, 
settling at San Miniato al Tedesco, a 
small Tuscan town on the way to Pisa, 
and Sarzana. The Buonapartes had 
their family vault in the church of San 
Spirito in Florence, and a writer in 
1854 mentions that there, in the 
cloister of the convent^ he read on a 
gravestone the following inscrSption : 

S. di Benedetto, 

Di Piero di Giovanni 

Buonaparte. E di sua Descendente. 

The arms above it, he further states, 
display a star both above and below 
the chevron. Others of the same 
name, doubtless of the same family, 
were to be found elsewhere holding 
positions of eminence and responsi- 
bility. When N. entered Bologna in 
1796 as general of the French army 
he was shown the city records, the 
"Golden Book," wherein were in- 
scribed the names and arms of the 
Buonapartes, while again at Treviso, 
after the battle of Areola, the civic 
dignitaries presented to him the parch- 
ments which proved that his ancestors 
once held high rank in that city. 

The San Miniato branch furnished 
many distinguished bearers of the 
name. A Giuseppe Buonaparte, pos- 
sibly of this branch, at the period of 
the revival of learning, wrote one of 
the earliest comedies of that age, en- 
titled "The Widow." The manuscript 
is in the Royal Library at Paris, 



ANCESTORS 

where is also preserved a volume, "The 
History of the Sacking* of Rome by 
the Constable de Bourbon in 1527," 
written by one, Jaoopo Buonaparte, an 
eye-witness of the event. This manu- 
script was printed for the first time at 
Cologne in 1756, and, according to Las 
Cases, actually contains a g^enealogy of 
the Buonapartes, carried back to an 
early period, and describes them as 
one of the most illustrious houses of 
Tuscany. Other details g-iven by Las 
Cases are of interest. "The Duke de 
Feltre, French ambassador in Tus- 
cany, brought to Paris from the Gal- 
lery de Medici the portrait of a Buona- 
parte who had married a princess of 
the Grand Duke's family. The mother 
of Pope Nicholas V. or Paul V. of 
Sarzana was also a Buonaparte." 
Again : "It was a Buonaparte who 
negotiated the treaty by which Leg- 
horn was exchanged for Sarzana." In 
the years from 1672 to 1762 fifteen 
Buonapartes of San Miniato received 
the degree of doctor at the university 
of Pisa — thirteen in law, two in philo- 
sophy and medicine. It was a member 
of this family who founded there the 
class of jurisprudence; in 1769 a 
Giovanni Battista Buonaparte was pro- 
fessor of medicine. 

The branch settling in Sarzana found 
in its isolation and obscurity a refuge 
from persecution and the turmoil of 
political and actual warfare which con- 
vulsed Italy for so long. They carried 
with them their Ghibelline and aristo- 
cratic principles, and for nearly three 
centuries lived in accordance there- 
with. They exercised the profession of 
advocate for generations, and in this 
capacity were entrusted with various 
embassies of importance in which they 
showed the true racial instinct for in- 
trigue. This line became extinct in 
the person of Philip Buonaparte, a 
canon and a man of means, who recog- 
nised his kinship with the Corsican 
branch, but left his estate to other 
relatives named Buonacorsi. It was a 
cadet of this sept who, leaving the 
mainland for either political or domes- 
tic reasons, settled in Corsica at the 
beginning of the s^Ixteenth century, 
mough, according to some accounts, 
various Buonapartes reached the island 
long before this period. 



ANCESTORS 

From the first the Buonapartes were 
looked upon as people of importance 
in the island, partly because of their 
Italian connexions, and also of their 
substantial acquisitions of land and 
the official positions they occupied in 
Ajaccio, in its law affairs, and in the 
magistracy of the town. The records 
g'ive nine generations as having lived 
on Corsican soil "within two cen- 
turies and a half. ' ' 

The following list, taken from Nor- 
wood Young's "The Growth of Napo- 
leon," gives : 

Francesco Buonaparte of Sarzana 
as the first settler at Ajaccio in 1529, 
dying there in 1540. He was known 
as "II Moro di Sarzana," and held an 
appointment in the service of the 
Genoese Republic as "mounted mer- 
cenary," with a salary of 12 livres a 
month. There is a petition in exist- 
ence, dated 1497, in the name of 
"Gabriele di Sarzana, figliolo del Moro 
di Sarzana," asking for an appoint- 
ment as mercenary, which he after- 
wards obtained. There was an objec- 
tion on the part of the Genoese to these 
appointments becoming the property of 
a family, their complaint being that 
"the mercenaries inter-marry or ally 
themselves with the Corsicans, to the 
detriment of their duty, which they 
execute with greater fidelity when they 
are new to the country." 

This Francesco married Caterina, 
daughter of Guido da Castelletto, who 
had left Pietra Santa, near Sarzana, 
for Ajaccio to become registrar and 
town-clerk of that place. A son, 
Gabriele, was born, also a daughter, 
Antonia, who married and settled at 
Sarzana. 

Gabriele Buonaparte, son of the 
above, also lived at Ajaccio as a 
mounted mercenary. During the Cor- 
sican rising under Sampiero in 1553 
Gabriele with other Genoese had to flee 
to Calvi, the only town in the island 
remaining under Genoese rule, from 
thence proceeding to Lunegiana until 
the retaking of Ajaccio, Sampiero, the 
leader, being assassinated in 1567. 
That year Gabriele started the profit- 
able business of raising towers, by per- 
mission of the authorities ; each tower 
was endowed with certain revenues, 
this proving an investment of capital 



ANCESTORS 

at v^ery hig^h interest. Gabriele died 
in 1569, leaving" two sons, Geronimo, 
the eldest, and Ag-ostino, who became 
member of Council of Ancients. 

Geponinio(was born at Ajaccio). He 
became an advocate ; in 1585 a notary. 
He was also a member of the Council 
otf Ancients {see Corsica) and was 
frequently re-elected ; became chief of 
the council in 1594. In 1572 and 1577 
he was sent as deputy to Genoa to 
report on Corsican affairs {see Cor- 
sica). He married Pelag-rina, 
daughter of Quilico Calvari of Chia- 
vari, Luneg"iana. Three sons were 
born of this marriage : Francesco (who 
follows), Gabriele, and Lucciano. 

Francesco became a notary ; was 
member of Council of Ancients in 1596, 
1620, 1622, 1630, 1631. He seems to 
have been always in financial difficul- 
ties, partly owing to the necessity of 
dowering his daughters. It is re- 
corded that he was forced to pawn a 
gold Agnus Dei for sixteen livres, 
leaving it to his son Sebastiano to 
redeem. Francesco married a widow, 
Camilla Cattaccioli, and had issue : 
Sebastiano (who follows) ; Maria, 
married a member of the Costa family ; 
Geronimo, married D. Bozzi ; Francis- 
chetta, married G. A. Loagalonchi ; 
Giacometta, who married a Tavera. 

Sebastiano (born 1603 ; died about 
1661). He married as his first wife 
Angela Felice, daughter of Troilo 
Lubera, who* died without issue ; (2) in 
1630, Maria Rustelli. Children : Geron- 
imo, married on 24 April 1650 Isabella 
Costa; Camilla, married 24 April 1650 
G. V. Costa, brother of Isabella; Carlo 
Maria (who follows) ; and Alessandro. 

Carlo Maria was baptized at 
Ajaccio I Dec. 1637 ; became member 
of Council of Ancients, 1681 ; died at 
Ajaccio, 26 Aug. 1692. He had mar- 
ried on 10 June 1657 Virginia Odone, 
by whom he had issue : Fiordalice, 
who married D. Costa ; and the follow- 
ing son : 

Giuseppe (was born at Ajaccio, 24 
March 1663 ; died about 1713). He 
became member of Council of Ancients, 
1702; and married on 20 Dec. 1682 
Maria Bozzi, of the feudal signors of 
Bozzi. By this alliance Corsican blood 
was introduced into the Buonaparte 
family, and also the name of Napo- 



ANCESTORS 

leone, which the Bozzi again seemi to 
have acquired from an alliance with the 
delle Vie family. A Napoleone delle 
Vie distinguished himself as captain in 
the service of Henri II. The children 
of this marriage were : Sebastiano 
Nicolo (who follows) ; Carlo Maria, 
died without issue ; Francesco Maria, 
died young; Maria Anna Virgilia, 
married Federico Forcioli ; Paolo Giro- 
lamo, died in infancy ; Maria Saveria ; 
Tommaso Xavier; who also died 
young. 

Sebastiano Nicolo (was born at 
Ajaccio, 29 Sept. 1683; died at 
Ajaccio, 24 Nov. 1760). He became 
member of Council of Ancients ; mar- 
ried Maria Anna Tusoli of Bocognano. 
Three sons were born of this mar- 
riage : Giuseppe (who follows) ; 
NapK>leone, born at Ajaccio 1715 ; died 
at Corte 17 Aug. 1767; became Chief 
of Council of Ancients, 1764; married 
on 3 Nov. 1743, his cousin Rosa Bozzi, 
and had one child, Isabella, who 
married Ludovico Ornano. The third 
son was Lucciano (q.T'.). 

Giuseppe was baptized at Ajaccio, 
13 May 17 1 3, and died there 15 Dec. 
1763. He was a member of Council of 
Ancients. Married on 5 March 1741 
Maria Saveria Paravicini, and had 
issue : Gertrude {q-v.) baptized at 
Ajaccio, 25 Nov. 1741, and married 
on 25 June 1763, Nicolo Paravicini, 
her first cousin ; and a son Carlo Maria 
{q.v.) the father of Napoleon. 

These Buonapartes w^ere mostly 
lawyers, but never seem to have ac- 
quired wealth. The sale of the pro- 
duce of their country estates,^ grain, 
wine and oil, furnished their income, 
which was occasionally augmented by 
the fees for notarial or other legal 
work. Their membership of the 
Council of Ancients carried certain 
privileges with it. They were ardent 
supporters of Genoese rule, and in 
1652 one of their number, Geronimo, 
was styled by the Republic of Genoa 
In a document dated 1652 " Egreglus 
Hieronimus di Buonaparte, procurator 
nobllium." But this distinction was 
never much used ; among the Cor- 
sicans such were neither highly 
prized nor popular; the people were 
never feudalized sufficiently. The 
Buonapartes cannot be said to have 



ANCESTORS 

taken part in actual Corsican history. 
Their sympathies were with the 
Genoese not the Cors'icans. But with 
the gradual admixture of native blood 
their sympathies changed, and in Carlo 
Buonaparte this tendency reached its 
climax in his adherence to Paoli the 
patriot. 

The development of characteristics 
in this family is not difficult to trace 
from its history and environment. 
Italy of the thirteenth and fourteenth 
centuries, with its incessant warfare 
and family strifes, developed natures 
in which a capacity for intrigue be- 
came predominant by force of circum- 
stance. On the physical plane, to con- 
tinue in possession of mere life for any 
period became a fine art ; on the 
mental, intrig^ue and cynicism were 
necessities by the same plea; the 
moral condition the pages of Ma- 
chiavelli will show, as indeed they 
comprise all. In the otbscul^ity of 
Sarzana these tra^its fell into abey- 
ance ; in Corsica, with the virility 
and individuality of a hardier branch 
of the Italian race came the atmo- 
sphere of a social life in which the 
vendetta was the supreme call of 
honour, the first and final appeal to 
justice. By family ties and legal 
duties the Buonapartes must often 
have been brought into direct con- 
tact with these bloody feuds; all this 
adding- its influence to the moulding 
of the race which was to produce one 
of the most compelling characters the 
world has known. The Buonapartes 
were thus an admixture of Tuscan 
Intellectuality with the volcanic energy 
and vigour of the Corsican. The in- 
tellectual tradition was maintained in 
each g-eneration ; the mind was culti- 
vated, education insisted upon and 
earnestly sought after — in this trait 
the family standing- superior to the 
majority of Corsicans. This was 
especially exemplified in the case of 
N.'s father, Carlo Buonaparte. 

The question of the Buonapartes' 
nobility, or the validity of their claim 
to such, is a vexed question on which 
authorities differ. They themselves 
based their claim on their consan- 
guinity with the Tuscan branch of 
the family. That the relationship did 
exist, in spite of the lack of actual 



ANCESTORS 

documentary proof, would seem to be 
shown by the family tradition existing 
on both sides and the unfailing recog- 
nition of kinship and its ties through- 
out several centuries. The island 
branch had never failed to keep in 
touch with the political developments 
and intellectual life of the mainland, 
and the accustomed channel of com- 
munication was throug'h the San 
Miniato family. To their care also 
were confided the children of the 
Corsican stock, whose education, ac- 
cording to the family tradition, must 
be finished at Pisa, a course followed 
both by the father of N. and by his 
son Joseph. Though it was only 
under the gradual dawning- of French 
ideas and influence that the Corsican 
Buonapartes strove to prove their 
nobility, Giuseppe, the grandfather of 
N., had about the year 1757 obtained 
from the Tuscan branch a formal re- 
cog-nition of consang-uinity. To mark 
this affiliation the "u" in the family 
name was now insisted upon, thoug-h 
the family up till now had spelled it 
"Bonaparte." Even on this point 
statements vary. One version states 
that in 1757 the Grand Duke of Tus- 
cany actually issued formal patents 
attesting the Buonaparte nobility ; 
another would have it that in 1789, 
when Joseph, in solicitingi the honour of 
a Cross of St. Etienne, had submitted 
the statement of his pedigree obtained 
from the g-enealogists of Sarzana, to- 
gether with that elicited by his per- 
sonal inquiries at Pisa, the reply had 
been : " His Highness orders that the 
applicant be invited to furnish the 
proofs of his Tuscan origin," this 
inferring that those already submitted 
were valueless. Dr. Sloane, in stating- 
that formal patents were issued in 
1757) g?oes on to mention that the 
coat-armour of the family was also 
announced : " La couronne de compte, 
r^cusson fendu par deux barres et 
deux ^toilles, avec les lettres B.P. 
qui sig'nifient Buona Parte, le fond 
des armes rougedtres, les barres et 
Ics dtoilles bleu, les orrtbrements et 
la couronne jaune ! " He further 
states : " Translated as literally as 
such doubtful language and con- 
struction can be, this signifies : A 
count's coronet, the escutcheon with 



10 



ANCESTORS 

two bends sinister and two stars, bear- 
ing the letters B.P,, for Buona Parte, 
the field of the arms red, the bends 
and stars blue, the letters and coronet 
yellow ! ' In heraldic parlance this 
would be : Gules, two bends sinister 
between two estoiles azure charged 
with B.P. for BuOna Parte; or, sur- 
mounted by a count's coronet of the 
last. In 1759 the same sovereign 
granted furtlier the title of patrician." 

In N. 's lifetime many mythical 
genealogies of the family were drawn 
up by the army of sycophants about his 
Court, tracing the origin of the Bona- 
partes to the Roman emperors, the 
Greek emperors, to Charlemagne. 
Amongst these was one proving N. to 
be the legitimate heir to the French 
Crown through the Man in the Iron 
Mask and the daughter of his jailer 
Bompart, which properly was Bona- 
parte. No one ridiculed these per- 
formances so mercilessly as the Em- 
peror himself. His criticism of such 
is to be found in the Moniteuir of 
IS July 180S : 

"A genealogy of the Bonaparte 
house, as ridiculous as it is stupid, has 
appeared in the papers. These re- 
searches are extremely puerile. To 
those who ask from what period dates 
the Bonaparte house the answer lis 
very simple : it dates from 18 Bru- 
ma'ire. Soldier, magistrate, sovereign, 
the Emperor owes all to his sword 
and his love of the people. How 
is it possible in the present century 
that any person should be so silly as 
to amuse the public with such 
absurdities? " 

When N. became the son-in-law of 
the Austrian Emperor the latter caused 
investigations to be made about the 
Bonaparte family in Italy during the 
Middle Ages, and secured the docu- 
ments proving that some of the family 
had long been Lords of Treviso. 
These pleased Francis greatly, and he 
declared that he had felt sure that 
N.'s family was as noble as his own, 
otherwise he would never have given 
him his daughter, Marie Louise. N, 
was not so pleased at these efforts ; 
he quietly remarked that he considered 
himself sufficiently honoured in being 
the Rudolph of Habsburg of his race. 
To O'Meara at St. Helena he reverted 



ANDREOSSY 

to the subject, and said that the head 
of his father-in-law "was crammed 
with ideas of high birth — he thought 
more of the lustre to be obtained from 
parchments than of victories." 

Yet the matter is of great historical 
importance, for the recognition of the 
family's nobility by the French autho- 
rities had been the sesame to that 
wonderful career of the greatest scion 
of the race, Napoleon. 

Andr^ossy, Antoine Francois, 
Count (1761-1828).— Was born in 
Languedoc on 6 March 1 761, and was of 
Italian extraction. He passed through 
the school of artillery at Metz, obtained 
a commission in 1781, and became cap- 
tain in 1788. He adopted revolution- 
ary principles, was on active service 
on the Rhine in 1794, and in Italy in 
the following year, remaining in that 
country till 1797, engaged in engineer- 
ing duties. He was made chief of 
brigade at the end of 1796 and general 
of brigade two years later, when he 
accompanied N. to Egypt. He served 
in the Egyptian campaign with dis- 
tinction, and returned with N. to 
Europe, taking part in the coup d'Stat 
of 18 Brumaire. In the beginning 
of 1800 he was made general of 
division, and during the brief peace 
vvith Great Britain was ambassador to 
that country. His advice that N. 
should make every effort to keep peace 
with the British Grovernment, which 
strongly desired to maintain it, was 
unheeded. When N. became Emperor 
he created Andr^ssy inspector- 
general of artillery, and conferred 
upon him the title of Count of the 
Empire. During the war of 1805 he 
joined the headquarters staff of N. In 
1808 he was ambassador to Vienna, 
and in 1809 military governor of the 
same city during the French occupa- 
tion. In 181 2 he was ambassador to 
Constantinople, but in 1814 was re- 
called from Turkey by Louis XVIII. 
On N.'s return from Elba he emerged 
from private life and followed the 
fortunes of his master. In 1827 he 
was elected for the department of the 
Aude. He was a member of the 
Academy of Sciences, and wrote 
several striking works upon artillery 
tactics, on projectiles, and on military 
history. He had a strong scientific 



II 



ANGOULEME 

leaning- and some diplomatic ability. 
He took a great interest lin water- 
courses, canals and lakes, which 
perhaps he inherited from his ancestor, 
Franfois Andreossy, who had assisted 
in the construction of the Languedoc 
canal in 1669. He died at Montauban 
in 1828. 

Angouleme, Louis Antoine de 
Bourbon (1778 - 1844), Due d'.— 
Was the eldest son of Charles X. of 
France. During^ the Revolution he left 
France with his father and lived first 
in London, then at Holyrood Palace, 
Edinburg-h, and finally at Hartwell. 
In 1799 he married his cousin, Marie 
Ther^se, daughter of Louis XVL He 
returned to France towards the end of 
the Empire, joined Welling^ton's army, 
and was appointed Prince Regent of 
Bordeaux. Early in the Hundred 
Days the due d'Ang-oul^me raised an 
army of about 10,000 royalist volun- 
teers at Nimes, which he commanded, 
and which offered the only serious 
opposition, for the time being', to the 
restoration of the Empire. On i and 
2 April 1815, his troops were success- 
ful against two bands of imperialists 
at Montelimar and Loriol, and marched 
to Valence, where, however, they 
found themselves face to face with 
General Grouchy. Angouleme's men 
began to disappear ; and on the 8th he 
signed the Convention of La Palud, by 
which he and his officers were allowed 
to g^o free, and his meji pardoned on 
g-ivingf up their arms. Later he be- 
came a member of Louis XVIH.'s 
Ministry, and he commanded a force 
which invaded Spain in 1823. He left 
France with his father after the Revo- 
lution in 1830, and lived in exile with 
him, dying- at Goritz in 1844. He is 
said to have been a narrow-minded 
and ignorant man, yet possessed of 
some good sense ; he was one of the 
ultra-royalists of his time, and was the 
last due d'An^ouleme. 

Angouleme, Marie Ther&se, 
Duchesse d' (1778-1851). —Only 
daughter of Louis XVL, of whom N. 
salid that she was " the only man in the 
famlily. " She was a woman of ex- 
tremely narrow-minded but masculine 
character, and her stern royalist creed 
appealed not at all to the French 
people. In 1799 she married her 



ANTOIVIIVIARCHI 

cousin the due d'Ang^oul6me, eldest 
son of Charles X., who at that time 
resided in Eng^land. With him she 
returned to France towards the close 
of the Em.pire, and on N.'s return 
from Elba she collected troops to 
oppose his restoration. Her en- 
deavours to rouse her men to enthu- 
siasm were, however, unsuccessful, 
and she finally dismissed them and 
sailed to England. After the second 
Restoration she became the head of 
the Jacobms blancs, or ultra-royalists 
party, which in 1815 endeavoured to 
suppress all traces of the Revolution 
of 1789 and of the Empire. She was 
accused of having- instigated the 
execution of Marshal Ney, and in 
defence said that had she known what 
Ney had done for France she would 
have acted differently — a statement 
open to doubt, as she could scarcely 
have been unaware of the extent of 
these services. 

Antommarchi, Francesco (1789- 
1838),— Physician to N. at St. Helena; 
was born at Morsigflia in Corsica 
in 1789. Antommarchi was probably 
one of the best-equipped anatomists of 
his day. He studied medicine at Pisa 
and then at Florence, where he became 
a pupil of Mascagfni. Before taking- 
up his post at St. Helena he had had 
a large and varied experience in the 
hospitals and dissecting-rooms of 
Italy, especially as regards the pre- 
paration of anatomical specimens, in 
which he was extremely expert. He 
was chosen to fill the post of physician 
to the Emperor by Cardinal Fesch and 
Madame Mfere, and left Gravesend in 
the Snipe on 9 July 1819, reaching- St. 
Helena on 20 Sept. of the same year. 
He paid a visit to N. on 2^ Sept., and 
the Emperor put him through a most 
rigorous examination on the subject of 
chemistry, regarding which he knew 
little or nothing-. Said the Emperor 
afterwards : " I would g-ive him my 
horse to dissect, but I would not trust 
him with the cure of my own foot." 
So it cannot be said that he had any 
g-reat confidence in his fellow Corsican. 
Antommarchi performed the post- 
mortem on the Emiperor's remains, 
but althoug-h he expressed himself in 
agreement with the official report, he 
was not permitted by the members of 



12 



ANTOMMARCHI 

N.'s entourag'e to sig^n it. Returning- 
to England, he shortly afterwards left 
it for the continent, and after visiting 
Italy and Poland, lived in Paris from 
1834-6. 

In 1825 he published his Dernier s 
moments de Napoleon. The book 
raised a great deal of controversy, and 
has since been stigmatized by various 
authorities — Lord Rosebery among 
the number — as "mendacious." He 
claimed to have executed a death-mask 
of N., of which he advertised copies 
for sale, but it lis now known that Dr. 
Burton took the oriiginal mask. 
Antommarchi died at Santiago de 
Cuba on 3 April 1838, aged forty -nine. 

Memoirs. — In his vivid sketches of 
the last moments of N., Antommarchi 
has drawn a portrait of his illustrious 
patient which later biographers have 
not hesitated to brand' as "menda- 
cious," but which for picturesqueness 
and insight into the character of the 
g-reat man he served will bear com- 
parlison with any other portrait. We 
are told that at the Corsican surgeon's 
first interview with N. in Sept. 1819 
he was put through a very rigorous 
examination regarding- his chemical 
and surgical knowledge, with which 
the Emperor showed considerable in- 
timacy, and that he failed in the ex- 
amination. He has a very different 
story to tell, for he avers that he was 
fortunate enough to answer the Em- 
peror's questions in a manner that 
satisfied Mm, and that he expressed 
his satisfaction in very kind and highly 
flattering terms. On the following 
day he paiid N. a professional visit, 
and as this bore a great resemblance 
to many others' we may quote the 
author's account of it : 

" I went to see the Emperor, and 
found him lying on a campi bed. 
The room was lig-hted so that I could 
observe the progress of the disorder. 
His ear Was hard, his complexion un- 
healthy, his eyes liVid, the white part 
of the eye of a reddish hue tinged with 
yellow, the whole body excessively fat, 
and the skin very pale. I examined 
the tongue, and found it slightly 
covered with a whitish substance. He 
was seized with violent and prolonged 
sneeziing, sometimes accompanied by a 
dry cough, followed by a viscous ex- 



ANTOMMARCHI 

pectoration, the nature of which varied 
from one moment to the other. The 
nostrils were discoloured and ob- 
structed, the secretion of saliva abun- 
dant at intervals, and the abdomen 
rather hard. Pulse low but regular, 
giving* about sixty pulsations per 
minute. All these symptoms appeared 
to me alarming. I examined more 
minutely, and observed that part of 
the left lobe of the liver, which corre- 
sponds to the epig-astriic region, was 
hard and painful on being- touched. 
The vesicle of the bile was full, resist- 
ing- pressure and projecting outwards 
in the right hypogastric reg-ion, near 
the cartilag-e of the third false rib. 
Vague pains on the right side about 
the regions of the loins and ribs ; 
fixed pain, more or less acute, round 
the breast, and sensation of extreme 
uneasiness in the right shoulder : on 
pressing the pit of the stomach, 
breathing was rendered more difficult. 
Napoleon also complained of a pain 
which varied in intensity, and which 
had long affected the right hypochon- 
driac region. It was internal, and he 
endeavoured to indicate precisely the 
seat of it by saying- it was at the depth 
of two inches. For some days past he 
had been without appetite, with fre- 
quent nausea and vomiting, sometimes 
acrid, sometimes bilious." 

N. questioned his surgeon as to his 
chances of life, and was assured that 
they were fairly good. He gave him 
an exhaustive account of his habits 
and his diet, which make most in- 
teresting reading. He railed against 
the climate, as well he might, and 
constantly stated that he felt sure that 
it would finally kill hiimi. His symp- 
toms undoubtedly appear to have been 
those of hepatitis, the sensation of 
pain in the rig^ht side and the shoot- 
ing; pain in the right shoulder assist- 
ing Antommarchi to this view; but it 
is strange that the Corsican surg-eon 
never hinted at cancer, and that, 
indeed, only one of N.'s medical 
advisers out of many correctly diag- 
nosed his malady. 

Coming as he did into the last 
eighteen months of N.'s existence, 
Antommarchi saw him only as a 
sick man, but it was a sick man 
with a wonderfully vigorous braJin. 



13 



ANTOMMARCHI 

N. appears to have been almost 
uniformly kind and polite to Antom- 
marchi, with whom he chatted most 
intimately, and in whose anatomical 
work he took the greatest possible 
interest, althoug-h the mere mention 
of practical anatomy was sufficient 
to arouse in him the greatest dis- 
taste. He said he had never been 
able to get over the feeling- of hor- 
ror at the proximity of a corpse. 
He greatly admired the coloured 
prints in connexion with Antom- 
marcbi's work. N. used to call him 
"Dottoraccio," and, as he did with 
hia favourites and intimates, used to 
pull his hair and ears. Antommarohi 
seems to have been greatly struck by 
the wonderful fullness and variety of 
his imperial patient's mind. On one 
occasion he had been reading a mag- 
nificent passage in Radine, in which 
Mithridates develops his plan of 
attack against Rome. He read it, 
says Antommarchi, "with delicacy 
and truth of expression and inflexion 
of voice which would have done 
honour to an actor." Suddenly he 
g-rew unwell, and, uttering his 
mother's name, fell back in a kind of 
stupor. Coming to himself again, 
however, he said : " Doctor, I am 
dead : what do you think about it? " 
Then rising from his chair and advanc- 
iing towards the surgeon, he looked at 
him from head to foot, took hold of 
him by the ears and whiskers and 
pushed him against the wall, exclaim- 
ing : "Ah, you rascal of a Corsica n 
doctor ! You are coone to^ St. Helena 
to physic me, are you ? Do' you know 
that I will have you hanged at your 
own house at Cape Corsica ! " And 
so he continued with much laughter 
and drollery. From day to day such 
scenes took place. The Emperor was 
rarely in fair health, but for all that took 
a g^ood deal of exercise. He believed 
in being bled from time to time, and 
was impetuous and impatient, so that 
he often opened the scars of old 
wounds rather than wait to have a 
vein issued in the usual manner. 

At one time, when N.'s health was 
rather better than usual, he used to 
read long passages of history aloud, 
or recall in lengthy conversations Ms 
victories and campaigns, and these 



ANTOMMARCHI 

talks Antommarchi gives at length. 
Later, too, he used to return to the 
scenes of his childhood, and was wont 
to recount how he stole figs from his 
mother's garden and fought and quar- 
relled with Joseph. He would still take 
horseback exercise and ride in his 
calash, but he was in the habit of 
sleeping in a kind of lethargy for 
hours, a sure symptom of hepatic 
disease. His skin, says Antom- 
marchi, was always excessively pale, 
bordering upon yellow, the complexion 
tinged with a greenish hue. He was 
almost constantly tormented with 
headache, and his extremities grew so 
cold that they had to be warmed by 
the application of heated linen. He 
almost constantly refused to take such 
medicines as Antommarchi prescribed 
for him. Whether he doubted their 
natural efficacy or the ability of the 
physician it would be difficult to say. 
There can be no doubt whatsoever 
that had he been removed from St. 
Helena in the early part of 1819 his 
life might have been spared for several 
years, for although the cancer had a 
strong hold uj^ron him, it appears to 
have been of quite a local nature, and 
it is practically certain that the imme- 
diate cause of death was nothing more 
or less than hepatitis induced by the 
climate. The Emperor was wont to 
say to his surgeon and fellow-oountry- 
man that the human body was like a 
watch which could not be opened. Did 
the jeweller attempt to probe it with 
his clumsy tools, he did a great deal 
more harm than good to it, and that 
it was better to leave it alone. The 
diet he took, which according to the 
medical science of the day was thought 
the best for him, would have horrified 
a modern physician. For example, 
Antommarchi states that one day he 
had "only " taken "three small quan- 
tities of broth, two' eggs, a little cream 
and a glass of claret diluted with 
water." Such a diet would, of course, 
do him much more harm than good. 
Occasionally there were little squab- 
blings, and N.'s fatalism often irri- 
tated Antommarchi. "Our hour is 
marked," said N. on one occasion, 
"and it is not in the power of any 
of us tc take a portion which nature 
refuses us." On the surgeon's oon- 



14 



J\QUA TOFANA 

tradicting- him he g^rew angary and sent 
him to the devil with his driig-s, but 
ere Antommarchi could reach his room 
N. sent for him and apolog'ized. 

From day to day, then, we encounter 
in these memoirs medical reports, until 
we oome to the time when N. grew so 
weak that he was forced to take to his 
bed for the last time. All the evidence 
goes to show that he suffered the most 
intense agony and that he complained 
very little. The latter pages of this 
work make such painful reading that 
perhaps only the most curious will 
care to follow them to the end. Every 
sing-le symptom is detaJiled. The last 
scene of all was one of the most ter- 
rible suffering, the dreadful nature of 
the tempest outside heightening- the 
picture of woe within. 

The remainder of the memoirs is 
occupied with an account of the 
autopsy (q.v.) and the further adven- 
tures of Antommarchi in Europe, 
where he saw many of those who 
were at one time close at N.'s side. 

Antommarchi, questioned by those 
in authority in England when he 
arrived in London as to the situation 
of Lx)ng-wood and the nature of N.'s 
malady, stated bluntly that the first 
was most unsuitable and that the 
second was not, as they thoug"ht, 
a hereditary disease. His father, he 
said, died of a schirrus of the pylorus 
and he of a chronic g^astro-hepatitis. 
On the whole there is nothing' in 
these memoirs to lead us to the con- 
clusion that Antommarchi has over- 
or under-stated facts, and we may 
leave him with the statement that 
his book is as veracious as it is hig-hly 
interesting. 

_ Aqua Tofana.— After the capitula- 
tion of Mantua early in 1797, Wiirm- 
ser, the general who had held the city, 
was so impressed by the mag-nanimity 
of N. that he wrote him a most klindly 
letter, warning- him that a plot had 
been formed in Bolog-na to poison him 
with aqua tofana, the deadly venom so 
notorious in Italian history as a 
weapon in the hands of the Borgfias. 
It is not known whether Wiirmser's 
belief had any foundation in fact, and 
we cannot learn that N. took any 
special pains to safeguard himself 
ag^ainst such an attempt. 



ARC DE TRIOMPHE 

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.— 

Was erected by N. in honour of the 
grande arm6e. The famous bronze 
horses, the ancient quadriga, of St. 
Mark, brought from Venice during 
the Italian campaign, first crowned this 
arch, but were restored to Venice by 
the Allies in 1815. The present figures, 
intended to represent the doubtful 
glory of the Restoration, are by Bosio. 
Soldiers of the Empire are placed on 
the Corinthian columns between the 
three arches. Percier and Fontanes 
were the architects. 

Arc de Triomphe de I'Etoiie.— 
This arch, spanning- the Champs Ely- 
sees, is thelarg^est of modern times, and 
was erected by N. to commemorate the 
deeds of the grande armee in 1805, its 
first stone being- laid on the anniver- 
sary of N.'s birthday (15 Aug.), 1806. 
Its cost is estimated at about 
10,000,000 francs (;;^40o,ooo sterling'). 
Chalgrin was its first architect, but 
it was finished by his helper Gorst in 
1836. The foundations of the arch 
are 25 feet in depth ; its height is 
152 feet; v^idth, 138 feet; thickness, 
68 feet. The main arch is 90 feet in 
heig^ht, 45 feet in width; the smaller 
arches each measure 57 feet by 25. 
On each side of the central arch, 
facing- the Champs Elysees, are two 
colossal groups cut in full relief, one 
of which is that masterpiece of Rude, 
the Chant du Depart or Marseillaise; 
the other is Le Triomphe, by Cortot. 
Above these are two bas-reliefs, that 
over the first group representing- the 
honours paid to General Marceau ; the 
second, above Le Triomphe, showing- 
Murat takings Mustapha prisoner at 
Aboukir. On the western side of the 
arch, facing Neuilly, the lower groups, 
are La Resistance tjy Etex, with bas- 
relief above depicting Areola and La 
Paix also by Etex, with the Taking of 
Alexandria above. On the frieze that 
runs all round the arch immediately 
underneath the cornice is a long bas- 
relief, the work of six artists, which 
represents, on the side fading- Paris 
and half-way over the lateral arches, 
the return of the armies. The figures 
upon this frieze are 6% feet in heig^ht. 
On that part of the entablature, above 
the cornice, are thirty bucklers, each 
one bearing- the name of a victory, 



IS 



ARCHAMBAUL.T 

fifteen of which are those gained 
under the Republic and fifteen under 
the Empire. The lateral sides of the 
arch are adorned with bas-reliefs — on 
the north side Austerlitz, on the south 
Jemappes — whilst inside the arcades 
are the names of three hundred and 
eighty-four marshals, generals, lieu- 
tenant-generals, and generals of divi- 
sion, the names of those who fell on 
the field of battle being underlined. 

Arciiambault, Achille Thomas 
rUnion. — Piqueur and coachman to N. 
at St. Helena during the whole of his 
captivity. In 1840 he returned to the 
island at the time of the exhumation 
of the Emperor's body. In Sept. 1818 
he created a sensation by riding down 
the course at the Deadwood Races in 
an intoxicated condition. The steward 
expelled him from the course and gave 
him a horse-whipping. N. witnessed 
the ajfalir from Longwood through his 
telescope, and reprimanded the man. 

Archambault, Joseph Olivier.— 
Brother of the above and a groom at 
Longwood. He was deported from 
the island! on 19 Oct. 181 6, and took 
service with Joseph Bonaparte in the 
United States. 

Arcis-sur-Aube, Battle of. — A 
battle of the allied invasion of France 
in 1814. It took place on 21 March 
between 23,000 French under N. and 
60,000 Allies under Schwartzenberg. 
N.'s troops were obliged to retreat, 
which they effected in an orderly way 
with a loss of about 2,000, while the 
losses of his opponents were consider- 
ably heavier. 

Areola, Battle of. — A battle 
of N.'s Italian campaign, fought on 
15, 16 and 17 Nov. 1796 between the 
French under N. and the main Aus- 
trian army under Alvintzi. After a 
fierce struggle the Austrlians were 
driven back, with a loss variously esti- 
mated at from 8,000 to 18,000. The 
victors also lost heavily. It was during 
this battle that N. risked his life on 
the bridge. 

Armed Neutrality, The.— A con- 
federacy entered into by Russia, Prus- 
sia, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark 
in order to resist the claim of Great 
Britain to search neutral vessels dur- 
ing the American War (1780). This 
was followed almost as a consequence 



ARIMED NEUTRALITY 

by the Second Armed Neutrality (1800). 
Paul, Tsar of Russia, on his accession 
to the throne, extended a friendly 
diplomatic hand towards the Napo- 
leonic Government, although he was 
animated by no spirit of liking to 
republicanism. On the spread of more 
autocratic prfndiples in France, he 
leant still nearer to N., acted as inter- 
mediary between him and Great 
Britain, and withdrew the Russian 
squadron which had been co-operating 
with the British in the North Sea and 
the Channel as a sign of hlis regard. 
It cannot be said that France on her 
part cherished a like amity for Russia, 
for she refused her representative en- 
trance to the diets of the negotiators 
at Rastadt, and studiously opposed all 
Muscovite pretensions in the Mediter- 
ranean. By his protection of Malta 
and the Knights of St. John, Paul ran 
counter to the desires of N., who, 
aware of the considerable strategic im- 
portance of that island, seized it in 
June 1798. Ere this, N. had inter- 
cepted at Ancona some letters of the 
Tsar which showed that he nursed the 
idea of securing Malta. Four months 
after the seizure of Malta by the 
French, Paul took the order of St. 
John under his protection. There 
were still further causes for dlispeace 
between the two countries. France 
levied Polish troops for service in Italy, 
and Paul employed French emigres in 
a military capacity. A Russian 
squadron joined the British Fleet in 
July 1798, and negotiatiions were 
opened with Austria for a coalition 
against France, which resulted in the 
Italian and Alpline campaigns (qq.v.). 
After the war, N., anxious to entice 
Paul from the coalition, and hard 
pressed in Malta, offered to make over 
the island to him, and, furthermore, 
offered to restore all Russian prisoners 
taken by the French in Holland and 
elsewhere. In Oct. 1799 Sprenporten, 
the Russian envoy, opened negotia- 
tions with N. in Paris, under cover of 
receiving the Russian prisoners, and 
the Second Armed Neutrality was later 
formed with the frliendly countenance 
of N. It was hastened by the (incident 
of the capture of the Danish frigate 
Ffeya (June 1800), which was convoy- 
ing vessels which a British squadron 



16 



ARMED NEUTRALITY 

desired to search. Its conditions were, 
briefly, as follows : (i) That neutral 
vessels had the rig^ht of free naviga- 
tion from port to port, and on the 
coasts of nations at war. (2) All 
goods, except contraband, which be- 
longed to subjects of the belligerent 
powers to be free on neutral vessels. 
(3) The term "blockaded ports" to 
mean those where hostile vessels exer- 
cised such a close investment as to 
make the proximity of such vessels 
dangerous to the entrance of neutral 
ships : no vessel navigating towards 
a blockaded port to be held as having 
broken the provisions of the conven- 
tion unless she attempted tO' enter the 
blockaded port after having been 
warned off by the commander of the 
investing squadron. (4) Neutral 
vessels tO' be arrested only for just 
cause plainly proved ; toi be adjudicated 
upon without delay ; uniformity of pro- 
cedure to be ensured ; compensation to 
be afforded those who had suffered loss 
through no fault of their own, and 
satisfaction tO' be given for insult to a 
neutral flag. (5) Declaration by the 
officer commanding neutral war- 
vessels convoying merchant ships that 
the vessels under his charge contained 
no contraband to suffice to prevent 
those vessels being searched. 

In Dec. 1800 N. announced to the 
neutral powers his determination not 
to treat for peace with Great Britain 
until she had recognised the principles 
of the convention. In Jan. 1801 
negotiations for peace, which had not 
yet been cemented, were entered into 
between N. and Paul. It was N.'s 
aim to establish a system which would 
exclude Great Britain fromi the com- 
merce of the continent, and cut her 
off from all business coimmunication 
with it. Britain demanded an explana- 
tion from Denmark of the trend events 
were taking, and was met with a deter- 
mined reply. A British fleet under 
Parker and Nelson was dispatched 
to< Danish waters. Embargoes were 
placed upon neutral vessels in British 
ports, and the same policy was carried 
out as regards British ships in neutral 
ports. In March 1801 the Elbe was 
closed to British ships by Danish 
troops. Prussian troops occupied 
Hanover and Bremen, and the Weser 



ARTILLERY 

and Ems were likewise blocked to 
British commerce. "The Powers of 
the North," wrote N., "unjustly 
attacked, may rightly count on 
France." On 2 April the British Fleet 
attacked that of the Danes, and the 
Battle of Copenhagen (q-v.) was 
fought. The arch-conspirators did not 
suffer. In March Paul was assassin- 
ated, and Alexander, his son, suc- 
ceeded him. The Second Armed 
Neutrality was set at naught. Good 
relations were restored between 
Britain and Russia, and several of the 
provisions of the convention were 
accepted by the former. But she re- 
served to herself the right to search 
neutral convoys, to seize hostile ships 
under the neutral flag, and toi main- 
tain blockades by vessels of war. The 
embargoes against British ships on 
the continent were withdrawn ; and, in 
the event, Great Britain reaped the 
fruits of victory from one of the most 
acute naval controversies of modern 
times. 

Arnott, Dr. Archibald.— Was sent 
tO' N. by Sir Hudson Lowe in conse- 
quence of a special request. He be- 
lieved N.'s malady to arise from 
mental causes, and found no' evidence 
of liver disease. He suggested cancer. 
He was not in any way influenced by 
Lowe, to whom he immediately an- 
nounced N.'s death on lits occurrence. 
He signed the first report of the dis- 
section and the final report, and was 
present at the funeral. 

Artillery.— N. usually depended for 
success in his battles upon an elaborate 
scheme of attack by artillery. " When 
once the mel6e has begun," he said, 
"the man who is clever enough to 
bring up an unexpected force of 
artillery without the enemy knowing 
it is sure tO' carry the day." His 
method was, in fact, not toi prepare 
the advance of infantry by slowly de- 
moralising the enemy, but tO' annihilate 
a portion of their line so effectively as 
tO' create a gap lin which the cavalry 
and infantry might operate. Prac- 
tically every one of his later battles 
exhibits these tactics. At Wagram he 
massed a hundred guns before launch- 
ing his final attack. N. took an im- 
mense personal interest in this arm 
of the service in which he had been 



17 



ASPERN-ESSLING 

bred and was jealous of its efficiency, 
which was very high, especially lin 
inan,oeuvre, as the batteries had to be 
placed well in front of the infantry 
line. He frequently massed his artil- 
lery on the wings, particularly in his 
Italian campaigns. N, employed his 
artillery at Waterloo with immense 
effect ; he gathered seventy-four guns, 
iTiostly i2-pound©rs, at a ridge near 
La Haye Sainte on the French right, 
and this was known as the "great 
battery." 

It was at Toulon that N. first won 
hisi spurs as an artillery leader. The 
guns he had toi work were few and 
old in type, but he set to, erecting but- 
tresses, mounting guns and invigorat- 
ing the whole service with his zeal, 
SO' that by the end of Sept. fourteen 
guns and four mortars had been 
mounted, materials gathered, and the 
situation entirely changed. The bat- 
teries under N.'s command forced the 
enemy's frigates to wiithdraw from the 
neighbourhood o£ the inner bay. He 
established forges toi keep his appa- 
ratus in order, and entirely reorganised 
his personnel. He was, however, much 
hampered by the legates of the govern- 
ment, and ended by bluntly disobeying 
them. Soi sure was he that artillery 
alone would end the siege that the 
general in command nicknamed him 
"Captain Cannon." On 30 Oct. 1793 
a formidable sally was directed fro'm 
the town against N.'s batteries, 
which was routed with the capture of 
the English general, O'Hara. On 
17 Dec. the enemy was driven within 
the interior works, the entire peninsula 
fell, and the neighbouring heights were 
■captured. In a few hours the city was 
completely evacuated, the foreign war 
•vessels set sail, and Toulon was taken. 
Duteil, in a repoirt written tO' the 
Minister of War, says of N. : "A 
great deal of science, as much intelli- 
gence, and tooi much bravery ; such is 
a faint sketch of the virtues of this 
rare officer." 

Aspern - Essling, Battle of. — 
After the occupation of Vienna on 
12 May 1809, ^- proceeded to arrange 
for the crossing of the river ; and on 
the 19th the passage began. The 
Austrians (95,000) allowed about 
25,000 French under Bessi^res to land 



AUGEREAU 

on the left bank, and then fell upon 
them. Round the \^illages of Aspern 
and Essling, which were reduced to 
heaps of ruins, very sanguinary fight- 
ing took place, continuing till the 
night of the 22nd, during which the 
French were reinforced by about 
30,000 men under Lannes and Oudi- 
not, and the Austrians were then 
fouxed to retreat. Both sides lost 
heavily — the Austrians 25,000 and the 
French 19,000, including Marshal 
Lannes {q.v.) who was killed. 

Auerstadt, Battle of.— An action 
of the Jena campaign. While N. was 
successfully accounting for a portion 
of the Prussian army at Jena, Davout's 
corps (27,000) came in contact with 
the main body of the Prussians, in- 
cluding their best troops (14 Oct. 
1806). Owing, to the French rapidity 
of movement they succeeded in with- 
standing the Prussian onslaughts. 
Meanwhile the Duke of Brunswick fell 
mortally wounded, and news of the 
defeat at Jena came to hand. Kalc- 
kreuth's reserves (which might have 
saved the day) were held back to cover 
the retreat, and thus the Prussian 
defeat was secured. Scharnhorst, who 
had taken over the command from the 
Duke, ordered the retreat, which was 
accomplished without molestation from 
Davout's exhausted army. Much 
honour is due to^ Davout for this 
crushing victory, won against an 
adversary in every Way his superior. 

Augereau, Pierre Francois 
Charles (1757-1816).— Was born in 
Paris on 14 Nov. 1757, the son of a 
small shopkeeper. At the age of 
seventeen he joined the carabineers, 
and soon became famous as a duellist. 
One day, however, an officer insulted 
him, and Augereau drew his sword. 
This necessitated flight, and he roamed 
about the Levant for some time. He 
next enlisted in the Russian Army and 
saw service against the Turks, but 
again he fled from his regiment for 
some reason, and in Prussia enlisted 
in the guards. He soon tired of this 
employment, however, and with other 
comrades deserted and escaped tO' the 
Saxon frontier. He next entered the 
Neapolitan service, and a little later 
was wandering about Portugal, when 
the French Revolution broke out and 



18 



AUGEREAU 

he returned to France. He enlisted 
in the Republican army, and served 
ag"ainst the Vendeans wiith such 
marked ability that he was made 
brigadier-g^eneral in the army of the 
Pyrenees, and there in the Spanish 
campaig'n was promoted g'eneral of 
division (23 Dec. 1793). Aug"ereau 
and his division w^ere next transferred 
to the Army of Italy under N., where 
general and men distinguished them- 
selves. After a forced march of two 
days, he seized the passes of Monte- 
notte on 10 April 1796, and having by 
this movement effected a junction with 
Generals Mesnard and Joubert, he 
drew the enemy from all the circum- 
jacent posts, and by the promptitude 
and daring of his measures surrounded 
a division commanded by the Austrian 
general, Prerera. On the 15th of the 
same month he took possession of the 
redoubts' of MiUesimo at the fight 
of Dego, and facilitated the junction 
of the army with General Serrurier. 
The next day he quitted his position, 
attacked and took the entrenched 
camp of C6va defended by the Pied- 
montese ; on the 26th he seized Alba, 
and on 7 May he made himself master 
of Casale. At the battle of Lodi (10 
May 1796) his turning movement did 
a great deal to decide the day. At 
Bologna he took prisoner 400 of the 
Pope's soldiers together with the 
cardinal-legate and all the staff. At 
Castiglione he rendered the most 
signal services. To rescue Massena 
{q.v.) from a perilous position, Auger- 
eau maintained an obstinate fight 
throughout the whole day, at last 
gaining possession of the place in spite 
of the superior numbers of the enemy. 
N. never ceased to praise this victory, 
and in later campaigns used to spur 
Augereau on by the mention of Castig- 
lione, whilst the ducal title N. con- 
ferred on him was derived from the 
place. At the memorable action of 
Areola, Augereau, seeing the ranks 
disordered and almost on the point of 
giving way, seized a standard and, 
waving it above his head, rushed on 
the enemy, and thus by his example 
and intrepidity animated the troops to 
a charge which decided the victory. 
After the fall of Mantua in 1797 N. 
despatched Augereau to Paris tO' pre- 



AUGEREAU 

sent tO' the Directory the sixty banners 
captured from^ the Austrians. 

Augereau had now developed poli- 
tical ambition, and from^ this time may 
be dated hi& rivalry and dislike of N., 
wihich ajfterwards madfe hliis actions 
open to suspicion. 

When the plot for the coup d'etat 
of 18 Fructidor (4 Sept. 1797) was 
sufficiently advanced, Barras, knowing 
that Augereau had openly declared for 
the majority of the Directory, recalled 
him to Paris and gave him the military 
command of the capital. 

On the appointed day, at the head 
of an armed force, Augereau entered 
the hall of the legislative body, tore 
the epaulets from the shoulders of 
Colonel Ramel and arrested Pichegru 
and about one hundred and fifty of the 
other deputies. The place of one of 
the expelled directors had been pro- 
mised him, but the vacancies were 
otherwise filled up. Augereau stormed, 
remonstrated and even threatened, but 
at length was prevailed upon to accept 
the command of the army of the Rhine 
and Moselle, vacant now by the death 
of Hoche. But even here the Direc- 
tory feared the man who had threat- 
ened them. He was therefore ap- 
pointed commander of the division at 
Perpignan upon pretence of an expedi- 
tion against Portugal. Thus was the 
"Fructidor General," as he was 
designated, duped by the men whose 
instrument he had been. 

The department of the Upper 
Garonne returned him to the Council 
of Five Hundred in 1799, and he has- 
tened to' Paris to exercise his new 
functions. When N. returned from 
Egypt, Augereau absented himself 
from the dinner given to the conqueror 
of Italy in the church of St. Sulpice, 
and later took no part in the events of 
Brumaire (Nov. 1799). When, how- 
ever, he perceived the trend of affairs 
and that all the famous generals were 
rallying round N., he at once pre- 
sented himself before his former chief. 
Now First Consul, N. appointed him 
to command the army of Holland, and 
he arrived at the Hague on 26 Jan. 
1800, where he was received with 
honour by the Batavian Directory and 
entrusted with the command of the 
forces in the approaching campaign. 



19 



AUGEREAU 

The same year he proceeded to the 
Lower Rhine at the head of the Gallo- 
Batavian Army to second the opera- 
tions of Moreau, but he did not dis- 
tinguish himself in that campaign. On 
the establishment of the Empire, he 
was created Due de Castiglione and 
given a marshal's baton (19 May 
1804). In 1805 Augereau rendered 
good service against Austria at Con- 
stance and Bregenz, and again in 1806 
against Prussia. At Jena (14 Oct. 
1806) he exhibited a skill in his 
strategical operations^ for which those 
best fitted to judge had not previously 
given him credit. Early in 1807 he 
was attacked by a fever, and at the 
battle of Eylau he was supported by 
his servants lin his saddle as well as 
being bound to lit, and thus directed 
the movements of his corps, which was 
almost annihilated, he himself receiv- 
ing a wound froim which he never 
quite recovered. N. was enraged at 
the disaster to^ his troops, and Auger- 
eau fell from favour. He was trans- 
ferred to Catalonia and gained some 
successes, but was 'guilty of cruelty 
tofwards the inhabitants. During the 
Russian campaign of 181 2 and the 
Saxon one of 1813, Augereau's ser- 
vices were undistinguished. In 1814 
he was entrusted with the defence of 
Lyons, a post of the highest import- 
ance, and despite N.'s adjurations his 
slackness was sufficiently suspicious 
of his being in touch with the Aus- 
trians. After the Emperor's downfall 
Augereau posted to Paris, and was 
presented by Louis XVIII. with the 
Cross of St. Louis and appointed co'm- 
mandant of the division in Normandy. 
He lost no opportunity of reviling N. 
On the return from Elba, two of 
N.'s proclamations openly designated 
Augereau as a traitor. The general 
remained silent till things developed, 
but when N. arrived at Paris he 
addressed his troops as follows : " The 
Emperor is in his capital ! That name 
so long the pledge of victory has alone 
sufficed to disperse his enemies. 
March once more under the victorious 
wings of those immortal eagles, which 
have so often conducted you to glory." 
N., however, repulsed him as a 
traitor to France, and one who in a 
few short months could betray two 



AUSTERLITZ 

masters. Obtaining neither a com- 
mand in the army nor a seat in the 
Chamber of Peers, Augereau retired 
to his estate of La Houssaye and re- 
mained there until the second Restora- 
tion of Louis, to whom he once more 
announced himself the partisan, but 
the King this time had no ear for his 
protestations, and deprived him of his 
military titles and pensions. He died 
at La Houssaye on 12 June 1816. 

Augusta Amelia of Bavaria 
(1788-1851).— Eldest daughter of Max 
Joseph, King of Bavaria, was born 
on 21 June 1788. First engaged to 
the Prince of Baden, she was at N.'s 
coimmand, for political purposes, 
married to Eugene de Beauharnais 
(q.v.) on 15 Jan. 1806 at Munich. 

The decision of N. regarding this 
match surprised all concerned. 

The marriage proved one of the 
happiest, love and devotion <m the 
part of both soon transforming a 
political alliance into one of real and 
deep attachment. In the memoirs of 
Eugene the following letter, dated 14 
Jan. 1814 and addressed to his wife, 
is to be found : 

" I need only think of to^-day, my 
dear Augusta, to feel sure that Provi- 
dence watches over me. What happi- 
ness and what charms do I owe this 
Ij4 Jan., which united my destiny to 
that of the loveliest, the best and most 
virtuous of women." 

Extracts from various letters of the 
Princess Augusta amply demonstrate 
her feelings. In one written from 
Milan to her husband at the time of 
Josephine's divorce she says : "Blotted 
out from the list of the great, we shall 
be inscribed upon that of the happy. 
Is not that better? " 

Austerlitz.— The battle of Auster- 
litz took place in the country to the 
west of the town of that name. 65,000 
French under N. were confronted by 
about 82,000 Russians and Austrians 
under Buxhowden, Kutusovand Bagra- 
tion. The fight commenced early on 
the morning of 2 Dec. 1805, and lasted 
practically till nightfall, when the Allies 
were decisively defeated, losing about 
12,000 killed and wounded, 15,000 
prisoners and 133 guns. The French 



20 



AUSTERLITZ 

losses numbered about 7,000. See 
AusTERLiTz, Campaign of. 
Austerlitz, Campaign of 1805.— 

Napoleon's fear that Great Britain 
might form an alliance with Russia 
and Austria was fulfilled in 1805. He 
immediately took steps to counteract 
any activities the Coalition migfht 
decide upon. The army which he had 
mustered for the invasion of England 
was transferred to the Rhine in eight 
corps, which included the troops in 
Hanover and Holland. Its com- 
manders were among the most bril- 
liant at his disposal, and included 
Marmont, Davout, Soult, Bernadotte, 
Lannes, Ney, Augereau and Bessi^res. 
But N. was entirely in the dark as to 
the intentions of the Allies, although 
he was, of course, well aware that they 
were far from pacific. At length on 
26 Aug. the news arrived that 100,000 
Russians were about to form a junc- 
tion with 80,000 Austrians on the 
Danube, and this compelled N. to 
direct the course of his advance 
through the Black Forest region. The 
chief difficulty he had to contend with 
was the lack of provisions and supply 
generally, the Allies having carefully 
removed all alimentary resources froim 
his line of march. These had been 
collected by the Austrians under Mack 
at an entrenched camp at Ulm, and it 
became evident that the Austrian com- 
mander-in-chief regarded the prob- 
ability of the investment of this depot 
with some anxiety. He trusted, how- 
ever, to Russian support to relieve 
him at a later date. The weaknesses 
of the French commissariat were 
obvious from the outset : the cloth- 
ing supply of the troops was poor, 
transport was lacking and food was 
scarce. N.'s hope was to beat the 
Austrians and Russians in detail before 
they could effect a junction. To keep 
the Austrians under observation he 
detached the V. and VI, corps under 
Murat and directed his march east- 
wards to strike at the Russians ; but 
when he became aware that this 
would grant too long a respiite to the 
Austrians he resolved to attack Mack's 
army, for he was convinced that were 
the communications of the coalition 
threatened, he would be forced to 
retreat in a southerly direction. Berna- 



AUSTERLITZ 

dotte was detailed to check the Rus- 
sian advance, while N. joined Murat 
and effected a series of forced marches 
in a westerly direction. 

The Austrian outlook was none too 
bright. There were indications of in- 
subordination, and its leader was un- 
popular. Moreover, the Russian Army 
was delayed. Therefore, early in Oct. 
Mack resolved to attempt to make the 
best of his way through the French 
lines of communication and take refuge 
in Saxony. He masked his purpose by 
informing his troops that the French 
were in retreat — and he was not in- 
correct in adding that they were suffer- 
ing greatly for^ want of supplies; 
indeed, desertion was not uncommon, 
and discontent was rife in the French 
ranks. Under the original scheme of 
campaign, Ney's corps were to have 
remained on the left bank of the 
Danube to repulse the Austrians at 
this point, but as only a division had 
been stationed there it proved quite 
inadequate to the task. In spite of 
heavy rains and bad roads, Mack had 
pushed forward so far, but after forc- 
ing the French division under Dupont 
to retire, bad weather rendered a 
further advance impossible, and the 
Austrians had to fall back upon Ulm 
toi renew supplies. On 14 Oct. both 
armies advanced, and came into 
collision at Elchingen. The bridge 
here had been destroyed, but was 
quickly repaired, and the VI. corps 
advanced across it with great elan. 
The Austrians, badly hampered by the 
nature of the roads, were repulsed, 
and their right column was severely 
handled. The left under Werneck and 
the Archduke Ferdinand managed to 
get away, but left their supplies. They 
were, however, stopped by a mere 
handful of dismounted dragoons and 
stragglers, which they mistook for a 
superior force, toi which 8,000 of them 
surrendered with the exception of the 
Archduke, who escaped with some of 
his cavalry. This disaster practically 
put the Austrian army out of action. 
Mack was gradually surrounded by the 
French columns, and withdrew once 
more towards Ulm. By the i8th of the 
month he was entirely closed in. He 
still cherished the belief that the Rus- 
sians were at hand, and agreed to an 



AUSTERLITZ 

armistice, undei'taking- to lay down his 
arms if relief should not arrive within 
the next twenty -one days. N. con- 
sented to this, but managed to send 
a number of French soldiers into the 
fortress : these commenced to quarrel 
with the Austrian troops, and under 
pretence of restoring- order and pro- 
tecting- the inhabitants of Ulm, N. had 
the guards at the gates overpowered 
and the unfortunate Mack was forced 
to surrender unconditionally. On 22 
Oct. 23,000 Austrians laid down their 
arms ; others had escaped to the Tyrol 
and Bohemia ; and Werneck with 
10,000 men had surrendered at Heiden- 




heim — another 30,000 had deserted 
and escaped. N. then rejoined the 
corps under Bernadotte, who^m he left 
to observe the Russians, who retreated 
before his advance along the right 
bank of the Danube, which they 
crossed and withdrew to an entrenched 
camp at Olmiitz to effect a junction 
with some fresh Austrian troops. 
Actions were fought at Diirrenstein O'n 
II Nov. and Hollabriinn on the i6th, 
in which the French were apprised of 
the metal of their new antagonists. 
N. continued his course down the right 
bank of the Danube to Vienna, where 
he found it necessary to rest his troops 
for some little time. Again he ad- 
vanced to Briinn with 55,000 men, 



AUSTERLITZ 

where once more he was compelled to 
call a halt. He was now faced by 
86,000 Russians and Austrians, who 
on the 20th of the month commenced 
to advance. N. concentrated some 
80,000 men in opposition to these, 
beside some 17,000 Bavarians. The 
Allies attempted to turn his right flank 
with the object of cutting him off from 
Vienna, upon which N., observing 
their error of judgment, moved his 
troops into position and issued his 
famous proclamation divulging to the 
army his plans for linflicting a severe 
defeat upon the Allies. 

The great battle of Austerlitz was 
fought in the 
country to the 
west of that 
Moravian 
town. N.'s left 
wing was situ- 
ated! at almost 
equal distance 
from B r ii n n 
and Austerlitz. 
To the north 
are w O' o d e d 
hills, ending in 
low valleys 
irrigated by 
small rivers 
and brooks. 
S O' m e three 
miles to the 
south-west of 
Austerlitz i s 
the plateau of 
Pratzen, the 
scene of some 
of the most sanguinary struggles in the 
action, and to the south lay certain 
lakes, long since drained. The French 
right and centre were first of all 
situated on a low ridge to the west 
side of the little river Goldbach. N. 
fell back before the advance of the 
Allies from Olmiitz and bivouacked 
west of the Goldbach, while the Aus- 
trians and Russians placed themselves 
in the valleys east of the Pratzen 
plateau. They had planned to attack 
N.'s right and cut him off from 
Vienna, and to this end commenced 
skirmishing on i Dec. just as even- 
ing was drawing into night. N. at 
this moment was receiving the homage 
of thousands of his men, who tore the 



22 



AUSTERLITZ 

straw from their pallets to form 
torches for an illumination in his 
honour. The Austro-Russian plan, 
which was probably not apprehended 
by more than a few members of the 
allied staff, arrang-ed that the I. and 

II. divisions of Russians were toi move 
behind the Pratzen ridgfe ; the III. Rus- 
sian division to cross the southern end 
of the plateau and join the I. and II. 
corps ; and the IV. , composed of both 
Austrians and Russians, to advance 
on the right of the III. towards Kobel- 
nitz. A column of cavalry under the 
Prince of Liechtenstein was to hold 
the northern part of the plateau. 
Prince Bag-ration was to throw his 
force across the Briinn-Olmiitz road, 
and the reserves were to be drawn up 
behind Liechtenstein. The whole plan 
was wretchedly conceived. 

N. placed Legrand's division of 
Soult's corps in line and supported it 
by Davout. Althoug-h this line was 
obviously slender, it was flanked by 
marshy country, and was composed of 
the best men in the grande armSe. The 
remainder of the French Army formed 
in the centre and left. N. saw that 
if the Allies attempted to turn his right 
they would present their flank to him, 
and he resolved to strike at this with 
his centre when the Allies occupied 
the heights of Pratzen. 

The first three columns of the Allies 
engaged at daybreak on 2 Dec, and 
attacked the French in the village of 
Telnitz. The front under Legrand 
found itself withstanding the whole 
weight of the allied attack, and was 
gradually driven back by the Russians. 
Bo'th sides were amply reinforced, but 
about 10 a.m. the Allies were in pos- 
session of the Villag^es on the Gold- 
bach south of Soko'lnitz, and Davout's 
line of battle had been driven more 
than a mile to the rear. He had not 
lost touch with the French centre, and 
with not more than 13,000 men Davout 
had successfully held over 40,000 of 
the enemy, the IV. column of which, 
through mismanagement, had not yet 
arrived to reinforce the main bodies. 
The two emperors and Kutusov accom- 
panied this column, the delay of which 
had opened a gap between it and the 

III. column on its left, towards which 
N. sent forward St. Hilaire's division 



AUSTRIA 

of Soult's corps. Kutusov, who had 
slept during the council of war on the 
preceding evening, now awoke from 
his lethargy, changed front to his 
right, called up his reserves, and made 
a vigorous defence. A fierce struggle 
for the Pratzen plateau, ensued. The 
rear of the Russian II. column was 
flung against St. Hilaire's right flank, 
but was repulsed. Soult now came to 
the rescue of Davout at Sokolnitz, the 
Russians in which surrendered. A 
timely cavalry charge threw the allied 
left into confusion, and the Pratzen 
plateau was now in possession of the 
French. Courag^eous attacks by the 
Russian Guard f allied tO' dispossess 
Vandamme. During this time Murat 
and Lannes had been defending the 
little River Santon, at which spot the 
Allies displayed great vigour. They 
were, however, unable to drive back 
the French. Furious cavalry charges 
on both sides ensued, Kellermann 
making g^reat havoc amongst Liech- 
tenstein's mounted troops. The 
French advanced steadily, forcing back 
the Allies on Austerlitz, thus barrling" 
their retreat on Olmiitz. A last g^rand 
attempt was made by the Allies in the 
centre, on which desperate fig-hting 
ensued^ — a sanguinary struggle taking- 
place between the Russian Imperial 
Guard under the Grand Duke Con- 
stantine and St. Hilaire and Van- 
damme on the plateau, but when the 
Grenadiers and Guard came toi the aid 
of the French, the Allies were broken, 
cut in two, and though they continued' 
fighting, especially in Telnitz where 
the strug'gle was furious, the retreat 
commenced at dreadful cost of, life 
Soult had placed himself between 
Austerlitz and those of the Allies who 
remained in the field, and the latter, 
in order to avoid him, turned south- 
ward, incautiously attempting to walk 
over the ice on the Lake of Satschan. 
This' was broken up by shots from the 
French artillery, and many of the fugi- 
tives were drowned. 6,800 French- 
men and over 12,000 of the Allies 
perished in the course of the day's 
fi.g'hting, and the latter lost also 15,000 
prisoners and 133 guns. 

Austria.— With the rise of N. a 
complete and final revolution in the 
relations of Austria to the German 



23 



AUSTRIA 

states took place. In the year that N. 
was proclaiimed emperor, Francis II. 
assumed the title of Francis I., here- 
ditary Emperor of Austria, and two 
years later, when the defeat of Auster- 
litz led to the treaty of Pressburg-, by 
which Austria lost Venice and the 
Tyrol, and N.'s oonfederatio'n had 
broken the unity of Germany, Francis 
formally abdicated the title and func- 
tions of Emperor of the Holy Roman 
Empire. Further losses and humilia- 
tions, particularly those inflicted by the 
treaty of Vienna (1809), followed, but 
with N.'s Russian campaig^n came 
Austria's opportunity for recuperation 
and revengfe. In order toi regain and, 
if possible, increase her pO'S sessions, 
Austria declined to join the alliance 
between Russia and Prussia, and has- 
tened to equip herself for any contin- 
g-ency. The defeat of the Allies at 
Lutzen and Bautzen and the conclusion 
of the armistice at Pleswitz afforded 
Austria the chance for which she was 
on the outlook. Accordingly she 
assumed the role of mediator and re- 
solved to throw in her lot with which- 
ever side proved the most amenable to 
her claims. N., however, was very 
reluctant to entertain demands involv- 
ing the overthrow of his political 
system in central Europe, and this 
folloiWing on the battle of Vittoria 
decided Austria in favour of the Allies, 
a decision which assured N.'s fall. By 
the treaty of Trachenberg (12 July 
1 81 3), the grand alliance was com- 
pleted, and in Oct. the Leipsic cam- 
paign was fought. The victorious 
advance intoi France was then begun, 
an advance which ended on 11 April 
1814 in N.'s abdication. 

The attitude of Austria to N. after 
his marriage with Marie Louise was 
not, of course, so benevolent as he had 
hoped. Talleyrand had for a long time 
urged an alliance with Austria, but N., 
instead of hearkening toi his counsels, 
forced her to accede to the continental 
system. She wasi also stripped of her 
remaining Illyrian provinces, and lost 
Dalmatia. Her quarrel with Russia 
was a mere keeping-up of appearances. 
She slowly but surely hoarded her 
forces to strike a blow at N. when she 
found him sufficiently weak. There is 
very little doubt that her emperor felt 



AUTOPSY 

very deeply what he considered the dis- 
grace of having to surrender his 
daughter to one whom he looked upon 
as an upstart among monarchs. The 
entire attitude was in fact one of 
revenge, in which the personal element 
bulked very largely indeed. See 
Francis II. and Marie Louise. 

Autopsy.— N. died at 5.49 p.m. 
5 May 1 82 1. It had been his wish 
that an autopsy should be performed, 
as he suspected that he suffered from 
cancer of the pylorus like his father, 
and he desired that his son might be 
saved from the malady. The post- 
mortem was arranged for 2 p.m. of 
Sunday, 6 May, and took place in 
the entrance-room of Longwood. Sir 
Hudson Lowe sent Sir Thomas Reade 
to represent him, and Antommarchi 
was to perform the operation. The 
great question was : Had N. suffered 
from liver disease or not? This ques- 
tion bulked largely as a political one, 
as if it were found that he had not, 
then the British Government were free 
from all blame in the matter. Dr. 
Shortt presided. Surgeon Rutledge 
assisted Antommarchi in removing the 
organs from the body, and Surgeon 
Henry took notes. Reade's report is 
as follows : 

"St. Helena, 
"6 May 182 1. 
" Sir, — Agreeable to your request, 
I proceeded to Longwood this morn- 
ing, in order to attend at the opening 
of the body of General Bonaparte. 
Upon my arrival there I mentioned 
tO' Count Montholon that it was your 
desire that I should be present on the 
occasion, and also that I should be 
accompanied by Brigade-Major Harri- 
son and the orderly officer. Count 
Montholon offered no objection what- 
ever, but on the contrary said he 
thought it highly expedient and proper 
that some officer on the part of the 
Governor should attend. I accord- 
ingly proceeded with Brigade-Major 
Harrison and the orderly officer to 
the room where the body lay. There 
was present on the occasion Count 
Bertrand, Count Montholon, Signor 
Vignali, Marchand, Pierron and Ali 
(St. Denis), Dr. Shortt, Dr. Mit- 
chell, Dr. Arnott, 20th Regiment, 



24 



AUTOPSY 

Dr. Burton, 66th Regiment, Mr. 
Henry, assistant-surg-eon 66th Regi- 
ment, Mr. Rutledge, assistant-sur- 
geon 20th Regiment, and (a part of 
the time) Mr. Livingstone, surgeon 
in the East India Company's ser- 
vice. Professor Antommarchi was 
the operator. 

" During the first part of the opera- 
tion nothing appeared to arrest the 
attention of the medical gentlemen 
except the extraordinary quantity of 
fat which covered almost every part 
of the interior, under the chest, but 
particularly about the heart, which 
was literally enveloped in fat. 

" Upon opening the lower part of 
the body, where the liver lay, they 
found the stomach had adhered toi 
the left side of the liver, in conse- 
quence of the stomach being very 
much diseased. The medical gentle- 
men immediately and unanimously 
expressed their conviction ' that the 
diseased state of the stomach was 
the sole cause of his death.' The 
stomach was taken out and exhibited 
to me. Twoi-thirds of it appeared in 
a horrible state, covered with cancer- 
ous substances, and at a short dis- 
tance from the pylorus there was a 
hole sufficient to admit a little finger 
through it. 

"The liver was afterwards ex- 
amined. The moment the operator 
took it out Dr. Shortt instantly 
observed ' it was enlarged.' All the 
other medical gentlemen differed with 
him in this opinion, particularly Dr. 
Burton, who combated Dr. Shortt' s 
opinion very earnestly. Mr. Henry 
was equally divided with Dr. Burton. 
Dr. Arnott said there was noithing 
extraordinary in the appearance of 
the liver; it might be a large one, 
but certainly not larger than the liver 
of any man of the same age as General 
Bonaparte. Dr. Mitchell said he saw 
nothing- extraordinary, and Mr. Rut- 
ledge said it certainly was not en- 
larged. Notwithstanding all these 
observations, Dr. Shortt still per- 
sisted in saying ' it was enlarged. ' 
This struck me so forcibly that I 
stepped forward and observed to 
the medical officers generally that it 
appeared to me very important that 
they should all be prepared to give 



AUTOPSY 

a decided and prompt opinion as to 
the real state of the liver, and I re- 
coimmended a very careful re-examina- 
tion of it. Dr. Shortt made no more 
observations, but all the other gentle- 
men reiterated their first opinion to 
me. At this moment the liver was in 
the hand of the operator, and upon 
my appearing desirous to see it close 
he immediately took his knife and cut 
it open from one end to the other, 
observing to me, * It is good, per- 
fectly sound, and nothing extraordi- 
nary in it.' He observed at the same 
time that he thought it was a large 
liver. This opinion, however, did not 
appear toi have been made in the manner 
as Dr. Shortt had expressed, viz. 
' that the liver was enlarged.' There 
is a large difference between ' a large 
liver ' and ' a liver being enlarged.' I 
made this observation to^ Dr. Burton 
and Dr. Arnott, who coincided. 

"After this I desired Dr. Shortt 
would give directions for the body 
being sewed up, and I requested it 
might be done previous to my leaving 
the room. Dr. Shortt desired Pro- 
fessor Antommarchi to do so. The 
Professor turned toi Count Montholon 
and said something which I did not 
hear. The Count, however, came to 
me and took me aside. He said that 
it was the particular wish of General 
Bonaparte that his heart should be 
preserved in order to its being sent 
to his wife, Marie Louise. I informed 
Count Montholon that I had not re- 
ceived any particular directions upon 
the subject, and consequently I con- 
ceived it would be proper to return 
the heart again into the body. He 
was, however, so exceedingly earnest 
in his request, and pressed me so 
very hard, that I consented to leave 
the heart separate from the body until 
a reference could be made toi you. It 
was accordingly put in a small silver 
cup and given in Charge tO' Assistant- 
Surgeon Rutledge, of the 20th Regi- 
ment, to whom I gave the most 
pointed orders that he was not to 
allow it out of sight until your 
directions should be received as to 
the disposal of it. 

"Counts Bertrand and Montholon 
made no observation whatever upon 
the liver. The whole of the stomach 



as 



AUTOPSY 

was described and shown to them, 
and the medical g-entlemen having- 
told them ' that the diseased part of 
the stomach, was the sole cause,' they 
expressed themselves perfectly satis- 
fied. — I have the honour, etc., 

"T. Reade. 
"His Excellency, 

"Lieut. -General Sir Hudson Lowe, 
"etc., etc., etc." 

Shortt's report confirmed the above, 
save for a clause concerning the liver : 

"Report of appearances on dis- 
section of the body of Napoleom 
Bonaparte. 

"On a superficial view the body 
appeared very fat, which state was 
confirmed by the first incision down 
its centre, where the fat was upwards 
of one inch thick over the sternum, 
and one inch and a half over the 
abdomen. On cutting- throug-h the 
cartilages of the thorax a trifling 
adhesion of the left pleura was found 
to the pleura costalis. About three 
ounces of reddish fluid were contained 
in the left cavity, and nearly eight 
ounces in the right. 

"The lungs were quite sound. 
"The pericardium was natural, and 
contained about an ounce of fluid. 

"The heart was of natural size, 
but thickly covered with fat. The 
auricles and ventricles exhibited no- 
thing extraoirdinary, except that the 
muscular parts appeared rather paler 
than natural. 

"Upon opening the abdomen the 
omentum- was found remarkably fat, 
and on exposing the stomach that 
viscus was found the seat of exten- 
sive disease; strong adhesions con- 
nected the whole superior surface, 
particularly about the pyloric ex- 
tremity, to the concave surface of 
the left lobe of the liver, and on 
separating these an ulcer which 
penetrated the coats of the stomach 
was discovered one inch from the 
pylorus, sufficient to allow the pas- 
sage of the little finger. The internal 
surface of the stom'ach to nearly its 
whole extent was a mass of cancerous 
disease or schirrous portions advanc- 
ing to cancer; this was particularly 
noticed near the pylorus. The cardiac 



AUTOPSY 

extremity for a small space near the 
termination of the oesophagus was 
the only part appearing in a healthy 
state; the stomach was found nearly 
filled with a .large quantity of fluid 
resembling coffee grounds. 

"The convex surface of the left 
lobe of the liver adhered to the 
diaphragm, and the liver was per- 
haps a little larger than natural. 
With the exception of the adhesions 
occasioned by the disease in the 
stomach, no unhealthy appearance 
presented itself in the liver. The 
remainder of the abdominal viscera 
were in a healthy state. A slight 
peculiarity in the formation of the 
left kidney was observed. 

"Thomas Shortt, M.D., Physician 
and P.M.O. 

"Arch. Arnott, M.D., Surgeon 
2oth Regiment. 

"Charles Mitchell, M.D., Surgeon 
of H.M.S. Vigo. 

"Francis Burton, M.D., Surgeon 
66th Regiment." 

Antommarchi did not sign this 
report. He agreed with its medical 
terms, but as N. was not alluded to 
in it as "Emperor " he declined to set 
his sign-manual to it. Even Bertrand, 
writing to Fesch, admitted that the 
disease was the hereditary one of can- 
cer of the pylorus. But Antommarchi, 
under stress from the remaining Bona- 
partes, once more advanced the "liver 
theory " in what Lord Rosebery has 
called "his mendacious book." The 
report, however, stands. 

But the controversy did not end 
with 1825. Professor Keith:, the con- 
servator of the Museum of the Royal 
College of Surgeons, in his Hun- 
terian_ lecture (8 Jan. 191 3) drew 
attention to certain specimens in the 
museum which were said to have 
been taken from N.'sbody by Antom- 
marchi. With this view the Professor 
agreed. Mr. Norwood Young, in his 
recent book, " Napoleon in Exile : St. 
Helena," controverts this theory. He 
says : 

"The post-mortem lasted for less 
than two hours, in the continued 
presence of six doctors and a number 
of other persons. Antommarchi could 
not have cut anything from the body 



26 



AUTOPSY 

unperceived during- the dissection. The 
eyes of all were upon him the whole 
time. Then, as the report of Sir 
Thomas Reade shows, the body was 
sewn up in Reade's presence — ' pre- 
vious to my leaving" the room,' says 
Reade. No doubt others remained 
also, as the meeting would not be ter- 
minated before the departure of the 
chief British official. 

"The body having been sewn up 
and dressed, Reade placed Assistant- 
Surgeon Rutledge in charge of the 
corpse, and of the heart, with ' the 
most pointed orders ' that he was not 
to allow them out of his sight. Rut- 
ledge remained in the room all night. 
His report says : ' The heart and 
stomach, which had been taken out 
of the body, were put lin a silver vase 
by me, and I was directed by Sir 
Thomas Reade, according to the 
orders of the Governor, not to lose 
sight of either the body or the vase, 
to take care and not to admit of the 
cavities being opened a second time 
for the purpose of removal of any part 
of the body, and not to allow the con- 
tents of the vase to be disturbed with- 
out an order from him to that effect. 
This was !in consequence of the press- 
ing solicitations of Madame Bertrand 
to be allowed to keep the heart, and 
to take it away with her when leaving 
the island.' 

"The words italicized place it be- 
yond doubt that special and effectual 
precautions were taken, which would 
have prevented AntommarcM from 
opening- the body, evert if he had 
desired to do so. This evidence is 
by itself decisive, for it is toi be pre- 
sumed that the same spirit of jealous 
watching and close observation of 
all who approached the ooirpse was 
evinced during the next day, the yth, 
when the body was seen by a constant 
succession of visitors, and until it was 
placed in the coffin on the evening of 
that day. 

"The specimens in the Museum of 
the Royal College of Surgeons have 
clearly nothing to do with Napoleon. 
They would have no interest for us 
were it not for the theories with regard 
to Napoleon's health which had been 
built upon them. The specimens were, 
in 1 910, subjected to modern methods 



AUTUN 

of examination by Mr. Shattock, who 
obtained evidence of the existence of 
the enlargements of lymphoid tissue 
which are often found in cases of 
Mediterranean or undulant fever. This 
discovery led Professor Keith to ex- 
amine the records left by the doctors 
who attended Napoleon at St. Helena, 
with the result that he came to the 
conclusion that Napoleon suffered from 
undulant fever. The opinion is shared 
by Sir William Leishman. Keith says : 

" ' No one who has tabulated from 
the records left by O'Meara, Stokoe, 
and Antommarchi the symptoms mani- 
fested month after month by Napoleon 
during the first three years of his ill- 
ness can doubt the recurrent febrile 
nature of his original disease. The 
symptoms are neither those of gastric 
ulcer nor gastric cancer, but of a 
nature which shows he suffered from 
a form of Malta fever, or of an in- 
fection nearly akin to Malta fever.'" 

Mr. Young shows that N. suffered 
severely in youth from the Corsican 
form of undulant fever, and that, as 
Dr. Chaplin suggests, it is quite pos- 
sible "that the seeds thus sown may 
have flourished again when N. went 
to reside in the sub-tropics of St. 
Helena"; that, in fact, "if Napo- 
leon suffered from undulant fever at 
Longwood, he must have brought the 
disease with him." 

Autun, N. at (1 Jan. 1779 to 
20 April 1779). — The college of 
Autun was one of the best public 
schools in France, and it was here that 
Charles Buonaparte brought his two 
sons, Joseph and N., aged respectively 
ten and nine, the latter destined for the 
army, to pass on to a military school, 
that of Brienne (q.v.) as it happened. 
The Abbe de Chardon, under whose 
care they were placed, writing his im- 
pressions in 1823, said: "Napoleon 
arrived at Autun with his brother 
Joseph at the beginning* of the year 
1779 under the care of their father, 
who . . . was a superb man. ..." 
He proceeds to say that N. was 
pensive and melancholy, but in three 
months learned enough French to 
converse fluently. It was also at 
Autun that N. first learned to face 
the jeers meted out by the French to 
a Corsican, for the Abb^ recounts that 



27 



AZORES 

■he himself said to the proud and pas- 
siionate boy : " How did it come about 
that you Corsicans were defeated, see- 
ing- that you were led by Paoli ? Was 
he not a capable g-eneral?" To this 
unkind taunt the child had replied 
with fire, saying: "Yes, he was, 
and it is my desire to resemble 
him." Joseph records in his memoirs 
that when the time came for N. to 
proceed to Brienne he himself wept 
abundantly, but N., pale and calm, 
shed only one tear which he endea- 
voured to hide. Afterwards Joseph 
was told by the Abbe Simon, who 
had been present, that N.'s one tear 
showed as much feeling as all his own. 
Azores.— Upon the surrender of 
N. after the Waterloo campaign, 
many islands were canvassed as 
being suitable places for his incar- 
ceration. Among others. Lord Castle- 
reagh specially favoured the Azores;, 
but he w;as succeeded in office by 
Wellington before he could carry out 
his proposition. 



B 



Bacciochi, Frederic (1814-1834). 

— The third son of Elisa Bonaparte 
and Pasquale Bacciochi ; was born at 
Bologna after his mother's abdica- 
tion "at the moment when she had 
ceased to have need of an heir to her 
power." He died at Rome in 1834 
from/ linjuries received by a fall from 
his horse. 

Bacciochi, Jerome Charles 
(1810-1811).— The second son of Elisa 
Bonaparte and Pasquale Bacdiochi ; 
was born at the Hotel Marbeuf, 
Paris, while his mother, then Here- 
ditary Princess of Lucca and Piom- 
bino and Hereditary Grand Duchess 
of Tuscany, was on her state visit 
on the occasion of the Emperor's 
wedding to Marie Louise. This son 
bore all the titles as heir while his 
mother's reign lasted. His birth was 
announced at Lucca by the salute of 
one hundred and one guns. The 
infant suffered from water on the 
brain, and died in 1811. 

Bacciochi, Pasquale (1762-1841), 
— ^The husband of Elisa Bonaparte 
(q.v.) ; came of an old Genoese family. 



BACCIOCHI 

a branch of which had, about the middle 
of the sixteenth century, emigrated to 
Corsica, settling at Ajaccio. The two 
families were already connected, for 
about 1580 a Tomaso Bacciochi had 
married a Caterina Buonaparte ; also, 
in the beginning of the seventeenth 
century, Laura, the great - grand- 
daughter of the founder of the 
Corsican Buonapartes, had become the 
wife of a Giovanni Maria Bacciochi. 
The family was also related to the 
Pozzo di Borgos. 

At an early age Bacciochi had 
entered the service, becoming in Nov. 
1778 a sub-lieutenant in the Regiment 
du Roy ale Corse. He does not seem 
tO' have distinguished himself in his 
profession, for it was only after four- 
teen years' service, that is on 16 April 
1793, that he was promoted to a 
captaincy, while in 1794, suspected 
of royalist leanings, ha was cashiered 
and saved his life by emiigration. He 
returned to France after Thermidor, 
and met his relatives, the Buonapartes, 
at Marseilles. With the consent of 
Madame Buonaparte he married Elisa 
on I May 1797, but against N.'s wish, 
whose reasons against the suitor were 
his dislike of the family and Bacciochi 
in particular (he having been a sup- 
porter of Pozzo di Borgo (q.v.) in 
Corsica), and also his slender means. 
Besides which N. was already plan- 
ning advantageous marriages for his 
sisters, and this did not coincide 
with his ideas. Metternich (q.v.) re- 
lates that N. would have preferred a 
brother-in-law with greater character 
and mental power. 

Under the Consulate Bacdiochi re- 
ceived an appointment as adjutant- 
general to the 1 6th division quartered 
near Paris, where he and his wife 
arrived from Marseilles about the end 
of 1799 or early in 1800. Again in 
1803 he was given the command of 
the 26th demi-brigade of light in- 
fantry, but not only did he neglect 
his military duties but his incapacity 
was notorious. Elisa desired of N. 
to promote her husband to the rank 
of general. This absurdity, however, 
he refused to perpetrate, but made 
him a senator with a salary of 25,000 
francs, and Bacciochi consequently 
retired from the army. In 1805 he 



28 



BACCIOCHI 

became Prince of Pionriibino, by virtue 
of being- Elisa's husband, and v/as also 
placed in command of the troops de- 
fending" the coast and communications 
between Elba and Corsica. In admin- 
istrative affairs, even if he had wished 
otherwise, he had perforce to follow 
his wife's will in all matters : at public 
ceremonies he took the second place, 
while at reviews he lowered his sword 
in salute as she passed. In 1809 he 
became Grand Duke of Tuscany on 
the same terms. After the fall of the 
empire he lived separated from his 
wife, but was with her, however, 
when she died. After that event he 
sold her villa at Trieste, and, obtain- 
ing permission to settle at Bolog^na, 
resided in the Palazzo Ranuzzi, where 
he continued the indolent and sensual 
life in which, he had always indulgfed. 
The Pope bestowed upon him the title 
of a Roman prince. Bacciochi further 
distinguished himself by writing- a 
beg-ging- letter to Pozzo di Borgo, who, 
thoug^h hiis relative, was N.'s g-reatest 
enemy. He purchased a chapel in 
the church of San Petronio, Bologna, 
where he erected elaborate monuments 
to his wife and children. He died in 
1841. 

Bacciochi, Pasquale Napoleone 
(1798-1799). —Eldest son of Elisa 
Bonaparte and Pasquale Bacciochi. 

Badajos, Siege of. — The town 
was besieged by the British during 
the Peninsular War from 17 March 
1 81 2, and was taken by assault on 
7 April at a g-reat cost of life to 
the assailants. The g"arrison con- 
sisted of French, Hessians and 
Spaniards. The British, who were 
under Welling-ton, lost 5,000 men 
during the siege and assault. 

Badajos, Treaty of (6 June 
1801). — Towards the beginning- of 
1801 N. decided that the time was 
ripe for the abasement of Britain, 
which he hoped to bring- about with 
the aid of neutral countries ■ — his 
plan being- to close the western and 
southern ports of Europe to British 
co'mmerce. Holland, Belg"ium, Spain, 
Tuscany, Lignria and Naples were 
with hiim, but he wished Portug-al to 
be soi also. The latter country, how- 
ever, depended upon its export trade 
with Eng-land, whom she supplied with 



BALCOMBE 

corn and wine, and therefore declined 
to comply wiith N.'s decree. An- 
noyed, N. broug^ht influence to bear 
upon Charles IV. of Spain to force 
him to invade Portugal with the 
idea of annexing- her ; but it was 
with g"reat reluctance that Charles 
agreed — his daug-hter being the wife 
of the Prince Reg-ent — and he hast- 
ened to come to terms u^ith his son- 
in-law. Relieved to have escaped 
invasion by the French, Portug-al 
became party to a treaty which was 
sig-ned at Badajos on 6 June 1801, 
the terms, of which, were : (i) the 
closure of her ports to Britain ; (2) 
the cession toi Spain of the province 
of 01iven9a; and (3) the payment to 
France of an indemnity of twenty 
millions of francs. N. was far froim 
pleased with this treaty, and refused 
tO' ratify it, although already sig;ned 
in the presence of Lucien Bonaparte, 
who' had been invested with power to 
doi so if the closing of Portugal's ports 
to Britain were secured. Spain, natur- 
ally angered, declared the treaty irre- 
vocable, and N. proceeded to threats, 
which, however, he was prevented from 
carrying out owing to outside events. 
On 29 Sept, of the same year he was 
forced tO' sign a treaty with Portugal 
at Madrid which was practically a con- 
firmation of the Treaty of Badajos. 

Balcombe Family, The.— Resided 
at the Briars, St. Helena. N. occu- 
pied a pavilion near their house while 
Longwood was being got in readi- 
ness. The family consisted of the 
father and mother, two daughters 
aged sixteen and fourteen, and two 
boys aged seven and five. Of the 
daughters, the younger, Betsy, pub- 
lished in 1844, when she was Mrs, 
Abel, an account of N.'s life at the 
Br'iars. She tells how she used to 
be terrified of the "Corsican ogre," 
and how when another little girl came 
to the BriarS' for a visit, and learned 
that this very ogre was in the garden, 
she became very frightened. Betsy 
ran off and told N., who, coming up 
tO' the poor child, brushed up his hair 
with his hands, shook his head, made 
alarming faces and emitted savage 
howls. She was carried away scream- 
ing. At their first meeting N. put 
Betsy through her capitals of 



29 



Europe : What is the capital of 
France? Paris. Of Russia? St. 
Petersburg" now, Moscow, formerly. 
^'On my saying- this he turned ab- 
ruptly round and, fixing" his piercing 
eyes full on my face, he demanded 
sternly: 'Qui I'a brule?'" The 
girl replied: "I do not know, sir." 
Whereupon he said, laughing vio'- 
iently : " You know very well that it 
was I who burned it." He used to 
play cards with the family, and when 
they discovered him cheating, laughed 
until the tears ran down his face. 
When one of the young ladies per- 
sisted that he was cheating he seized 
her ball dress which she was to wear 
on the following evening, and run- 
ning with it to the pavilion locked 
himself in, keeping it there all night 
in spite of her entreaties. Later Mr. 
Balcombe was charged with accepting 
a bribe from N., and left St. Helena 
with his family. 

Barbary, Pirates of. — During 
N.'s captivity at Elba news reached 
the island from time to time that the 
Barbary pirates were eager to seize 
him and win a great ransom. They 
never seem to have attempted to 
carry out their object, however, pos- 
sibly because of the proiximity of 
British warships to the island. 

Barras, Paul Francois Nicolas, 
Comte de (1755- 1829),— Member of 
the French Directory 1795-99- ^^ 
was born at Fox-Amphoux of an 
ancient and noble family of Provence. 
He began his military career in the 
regiment of Languedoc as "gentle- 
man cadet " at the age of sixteen. 
In 1775 he made a visit to the Isle 
of France, which was under the 
governorship of a relative, and there 
joined the regiment for Pondicherry. 
Shipwrecked on his voyage out to 
India, he at last reached Pondicherry 
in time to take part in the defence 
of that city, which capitulated to the 
British in Oct. 1778. The garrison 
was released, and Barras then served 
in the squadron of De Suffren and at 
the Cape of Good Hope. He returned 
to France and became notorious for 
his gambling and amorous adventures. 
The Revolution broke out in 1789, and 
Barras became a devoted adherent of 
the democratic cause. He was one of 



BARRAS 

the administrators of the department 
of the Var, for which he sat as deputy 
in the Convention in 1792 and where 
he voted for the death of the King. 
He also took his seat in the high 
national court of Orleans : in the same 
year he became commissioner to the 
French Army in Italy on the outbreak 
of war with Sardinia. He was sent 
on various missions into the south and 
east of France ; with Freron to Mar- 
seilles and again to Toulon, where, at 
the time of the siege, he first met 
Bonaparte. In 1794 Barras joined 
forces with others to procure the 
overthrow of Robespierre, being one 
of the principal actors in the dra- 
matic 9 Thermidor (27 July). In 
the spring of 1795 the Convention 
was surrounded and threatened by 
the people of the suburbs. Barras 
instituted vigorous measures ; he 
caused Paris to be decreed in a 
state of siege, gave the command 
of the available forces to Pichegru 
(q.v.), and thus soon restored order. 
In May of the same year he com- 
pleted the defeat of the Montagnard 
party by the use of the armed force ; 
whilst in Oct., when the Convention 
was threatened by the disaffected 
National Guards, he called Bonaparte 
to his aid in quelling a disturbance 
that promised serious trouble. This 
led to the famous "whiff of grape- 
shot " incident, and both royalists 
and malcontents were routed and 
dispersed in the streets about the 
Tuilerlies — 13 Vendemiaire (5 Oct. 

1795)- 

These important services caused his 
appointment to the Directory. It has 
been said that tO' Barras France owed 
the appointment of Bonaparte to the 
command of the army of Italy, as the 
doiwry of Josephine de Beauharnais. 
But this assertion is disproved by the 
evidence of Carnot (q.v.) and others. 
However, Barras had discernment 
enough to perceive the gain in power 
to be derived fro'm the abilitiiest of one 
like Bonaparte, and certain it is that 
the latter's achievements were placed 
to the credit of the Directory and 
prolonged, its life. When in 1797 
the royal and constitutional opposi- 
tion threatened to assume menacing 
proportions, Barras and Bonaparte 



30 



6ARRAS 

again joined forces, and the latter 
sent General Augereau {q-v.) to 
crush the r'ising in the coup d'etat 
of i8 Fructidor (4 Sept.). Though 
the behaviour of Barras at this time 
contributed more than anything else 
to^ the odium in which the Directory 
came to be regarded, he himself 
affected to see these faults and the 
need of a change. He therefore 
joined with Bonaparte, Siey^s and 
others in the plot which brought 
about the coup d'etat of 18 Bru- 
maire (9 Nov.) 1799. But, not having 
realized to the full the strength or 
ambitions of Bonaparte, he after- 
wards found himself thrust aside and 
his political career at an end. He 
had during the Revolution amassed 
a large fortune, and with this he 
now retired to enjoy the life of 
a voluptuary. His notorious im- 
morality did much to degrade the 
causes he espoused, and this, to- 
gether with other phases of his 
character, was a not inconsiderable 
factor in the downfall of the first 
French Republic, as it had been in 
that of the Directory. As a member 
of a noble house, he professed, in 
181 5, royalist sympathies, but he re- 
mained suspect toi the Bourbons not- 
withstanding his protestations. He 
died on 29 Jan. 1829. There was 
an attempt on the part of the authori- 
ties to seize his private papers and 
memoirs after his death, but this 
was unsuccessful. His memoirs are 
notoriously incorrect in historical 
fact, which invalidates his evidence 
in regard to other affairs. 

Memoirs. — The weapon Barras 
forged in his memoirs for the pur- 
pose of striking a blow at the Napo- 
leonic reputation has proved his own 
undoing. In attempting to blacken 
the Emperor he has soi foully be- 
smirched himself that he must be 
regarded as more fool than knave 
— for knave he unquestionably was. 
The one thing that redeems him is 
that he was great in his knavery, for 
Barras just missed being a genius. 
This man, who was instrumental in 
sending Robespierre to his death, was 
perhaps the most corrupt thing bred 
among the slime of the Revolution, 
a practised peculator, a roue of the 



BARRAS 

roues, a schemer and mouchard of a 
type peculiar to the days of the Terror. 

The first part of these terrible 
memoirs deals with the guillotine days 
in a manner unsurpassed for interest. 
These tragic and bloody times are 
drawn with brushes of sable and red 
and in the boldest outline. Who can 
forget the interview (if such it can 
be called) between Barras and Robe- 
spierre in which the latter maintained 
such a dread silence — the silence of 
doom? Or what imagination could 
fail to be impressed by the frightful 
picture of the sanguinary Robespierre 
following his victims to the scaffo<ld 
and licking hbis lips in tigerish glee 
as he witnessed their last throes? It 
must surely be accounted for righteous- 
ness to the rogue Barras that he 
plotted the assassination of the fiend 
Robespierre. 

The pages that Barras devotes to 
the unfortunate Josephine are surely 
the foulest things in the literature of 
squalidity. An unwritten law of 
chivalry demands that if a man has re- 
ceived the favours of a woman that he 
shall keep silence regarding the cir- 
curnstance. _ The abominable picture 
which he paints of Josephine as a soul- 
less courtesan can only be alluded to 
in these pages, and then but with the 
most consummate disgust and distaste. 
"Her libertinism," says this apostle of 
morality, "sprang merely from the 
mind, while the heart played no part 
in the pleasures of her body ; in a word, 
never loving except from motives of 
interest, the lewd Creole never lost 
sight of business." The description is 
a glaring contradiction in terms. She 
was lewd and yet not lewd in that she 
sold herself for gold, " which she would 
have drunk out of the skull of her 
lover." And this of the mother of 
Eugene and Hortense ; this of a 
woman who could not tolerate the 
slightest act of gallantry on the part 
of her emperor-husband ! 

From Josephine Barras passes to 
Napoleon. He states that he warned 
the young general not to waste his 
substance upon "an old woman." N. 
stated his intention of marrying 
Josephine, whereupon Barras said that 
the idea seemed to him less ridiculous 
than at first sight. Her daughter, 



31 



BARTENSTEIN 



BATAVIA 



Hortense, was apprenticed to a dress- 
maker, continues Barras, and her son 
to a carpenter. Later Josephine called 
upon the memoirist and told him that 
she would not object to a union wlith 
the "Little Puss in Boots," who 
seemed enterprisiing, and whom she 
had not told of her straitened circum- 
stances, which Barras was to refrain 
from alluding to. She expressed her 
unalterable affection for Barras. 
"Come now," said that gallant, "you 
have loved many another." He then 
rang- the bell and had her shown out. 
Barras goes on to relate how Josephine 
told N. that Barras had attempted her 
virtue but had signally failed. The 
pair resolved to use Barras !in order 
to obtain for N. the command of the 
Army of Italy. They then returned to 
Barras, and penetrating to his cabinet 
together, jointly offered to dispose of 
the honour of the woman in order that 
the man might have the command he 
desired. 

The imagination sickens at the reci- 
tatiO'U of such a palpable and disgust- 
ing falsehood. If N. was ever in love 
with anyone in his life it was with 
Josephine at that moment. Here let 
us take leave of this viper who has 
dipped his pen in venom and who has 
uselessly attempted to besmirch laurels 
which shall shine when the abomina- 
tions he has fathered are, like the vile- 
ness that was his body, disho«oured 
dust ! 

Bartenstein, Convention of 
(26 April 1807).— After his defeat at 
Eylau, N., whose resources were 
greatly impoverished, opened negotia- 
tions with Prussia^for a separate peace, 
but his overtures were not accepted — 
Prussia and Russia, on Hardenberg's 
advice, deciding tO' hold together. 
Feeling convinced that N.'s further 
wish for an armistice showed his weak- 
ness, the Tsar brought influence tO' 
bear on his ally, and secured Harden- 
berg's appointment to the foreign 
ministry, and the latter set on foot 
plans for the vigorous prosecution of 
the war. Towards the beginning of 
April, the Tsar and the King of Prus- 
sia went to their joint headquarters, 
and the RussO'-Prussian Convention of 
Bartenstein was signed on 26 April at 
Sohippenbeil. This Convention was in 



effect a solemn engagement entered 
into for the purpose of raising the yoke 
of France from the shoulders of 
Europe. Its more important pro*- 
visions were : (i) that Germany should 
be rid of the French, and a confedera- 
tion of her states formed ; she was to 
have her old domains restored or 
receive compensation ; (2 ) neither 
Russia nor Prussia was to fight for 
herself alone, but for the common 
cause ; (3) Austria, Great Britain, 
Sweden and Denmark were to be asked 
toi join in a general war of liberation ; 
(4 ) the Italian controversy was to be 
settled later on, but her rights were 
to be reinstated; (5) in answer to N.'s 
proposals, a congress at Copenhagen 
was suggested. Austria did not join, 
and although Great Britain did, agree- 
ing tO' pay ;^i,ooo,ooo to Prussia and 
promising men and transports, the 
latter were not forthcoming when the 
time arrived. Denmark remained 
friendly to N. 

Basel, Treaty of.— On 5 April 
1795 a treaty of peace was concluded 
at Basel between France, Prussia, 
Spain, Holland and the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany. By its terms the whole of 
northern Germany was neutralized, 
and France confirmed in her poisses- 
sion of Belgium, the left bank of the 
Rhine and St. Do-mingo. The treaty 
of Basel was one of the numerous 
short-lived pacifications which occurred 
from time to time in the course of the 
French Revolutionary Wars. 

Bassano, Battle of.— A battle 
of the Italian campaigns, fought on 
8 Sept. 1796 between the French under 
N. and the "Austrians under Wvirmser. 
The latter were utterly routed, and 
when Wiirmser collected his scattered 
troops he had only 16,000 left out of 
the 60,000 with which he had com- 
menced the campaign. 

Bassein, Treaty of.— The treaty 
by which the head of the Mahratta 
Confederation, fleeing from his 
do'mains during the period of inter- 
necine strife, placed himself under the 
protection of Britain (31 Dec. 1802). 
The Confederation resented British in- 
terference, and the treaty of Bassein 
resulted in the Mahratta war of 1803. 

Batavia.— The British captured 
this town by assault from a French 



32 



BAUTZEN 

and Dutch garrison on 26 Aug. 181 1. 
The British were under Sir Samuel 
Auchmuty. 

Bautzen, Battle of (Leipsic Cam- 
paign).— After the defeat at Lvitzen 
(2 May 1813 ), the Allies retreated as 
far as the Spree, where they took up 
a goodi position near Bautzen. N. 
attacked them on 20 May, and after 
two days' fighting succeeded in mak- 
ing them withdraw, which they did 
in good order with all their guns. 
The losses were about 20,000 on both 
sides. 

Baylen, Battle of.— A battle of 
the Peninsular War, fought on 19 July 
1808, in which 20,000 French troops 
under Dupont, who were encumbered 
by baggage-waggons loaded with spoil 
from Cordova, were surrounded by a 
greatly superior number of Spaniards 
(30,000) under Castanos and com- 
pelled to surrender. This disaster 
created a widespread feeling of depres- 
sion in France and especially enraged 
N., who was at Bordeaux when news 
of the capitulation reached him. 

Beauharnals, Alexandre, Vi- 
comte de (1760-1794), — The first hus- 
band of Josephine ; was born in 
Martinique, the second son of the 
Marquis de Bgauharnais, governor of 
that island. The vicomte entered the 
army, and later fought in the Ameri- 
can War of Independence. On 13 Dec. 
1779 at Noisy-le-Grand he married 
Josephine. The bridegroom was nine- 
teen, and the bride, brought from 
Martinique to France by her father, 
just sixteen. 

In 1789 Beauiharnais eagerly em- 
braced the cause of the Revolution, 
being one of the first of the noblesse 
to join the tiers-Hat, whilst his 
brother was a staunch royalist. The 
vicomte, who was elected a member 
of the National Assembly, became its 
secretary and its president. 

In 1790, when his wife and daughter 
returned from Martinique where they 
had lived for the past two years, Beau- 
harnals was a man of political im- 
portance in Republican Paris. Hus- 
band and wiife met amiicably, residing 
in the same house, but Josephine, fear- 
ing for the safety of her children in 
troubled Paris, sent them away with 
friends. Her husband, however, trust- 



BEAUHARNAIS 

ing fully in the Republic, and also per- 
haps from a politic motive, had them 
brought back, and Eugene was placed 
at the College National of Paris. At 
the close of the session (1791 ) he ob- 
tained a military command, and set 
out to join the army of the Rhine under 
General Custines, whom he afterwards 
replaced. His conduct as commander- 
in-chief was excellent, but he was 
faced by overpowering odds. His 
failure in the relief of Mainz led to 
criticism in the G>nvention, added to 
which the fact that he was of noble 
birth was an increasing danger. Beau- 
harnais was recalled, to his great grief. 
Though a supporter of the Republic, 
he regarded the Jacobins with loath- 
ing, and quite realised the danger that 
awaited him on his return. He re- 
signed his command, the army remain- 
ing without a commander in presence 
of the enemy, and retired to one of his 
estates ; but his naone was too promi- 
nent to escape the attentions of his 
enemies, and he was arrested and 
thrown into the prison of the Car- 
melites, where shortly afterwards his 
wife was also immured. 

On the charge of having been for 
a fortnight inactive at the head of his 
army and thus contributing to the loss 
of Mainz he was condemned to death. 
He wrote an affectionate letter to his 
wife, commending mes enfants to her 
care, speaking of his regrets, and ex- 
pressing an earnest hoi>e that justice 
might be done to his memory. On 
23 July 1794 he died by the guillotine, 
meeting his end with great fortitude 
and courage. See Josephine. 

Beauharnais, Claud de, Comte 
des Roches-Bapitand. — Was uncle to 
Alexandre, the Marquis and Vicomte 
de Beauharnais (q-v.), and served in 
the navy, becoming a vice-admiral. 
He married Marie Anne Francoise 
Mou^hard, better known as Fanny de 
Beauharnais (q.v.), whose salon was 
so celebrated. Stephanie de Beau- 
harnais (q-v.), who became Grand 
Duchess of Baden, was his grand- 
daughter. 

Beauharnais, Eusc^ne de (1781- 
1824). — The step-son of N. ; was bom 
at Paris on 3 Sept. 1781. He was the 
son of General Vicomte Alexandre 
de Beauharnais (q.v.) and Josephine 



33 



BEAUHARNAIS 

Tascher de la Pag-erie {q.v.)y after- 
wards the wife of N. 

Eughne de Beauharnais was educated 
at a boarding-school at St. Germain- 
en-Laye, but when Wis father was 
executed and his mother thrown into 
prison the circumstances of the family 
were so reduced that the boy was 
bound apprentice to a joiner, and 
actually worked at that trade for some 
little time. There is no doubt that this 
humble calling; was also a protection 
and safeguard to one of ar'istocratic 
birth. The marriage of his mother 
to General Bonaparte was at first re- 
sented by Eugene and his sister Hor- 
tense {q-v.), but the kindness of their 
step-father soon disarmed them, while 
their interests were undoubtedly 
advanced by him. By his influence 
Eugfene in 1796 joined the Guides and, 
being too young as yet to accompany 
his step-father, was placed under the 
direction of Marshal Bessiires {q.v.). 
After Leoben, however, Eugfene joined 
N.'s staff, and in the Italian cam- 
paigns of 1796-1797 served as his 
aide-de-camp. In the same capacity 
he accompanied N. to Egypt in the 
following year, and there "Cherubin," 
as he was nicknamed from his boyish 
looks, displayed undoubted courage, 
and in the siege of Acre received his 
first wound. 

On the establishment of the con- 
sular government Eugfene, thoug-h not 
in his twentieth year, was entrusted 
with a brigade of the guards, and 
gained distinction at Marengo (1800). 
In 1804, when N. was proclaimed 
Emperor of the French, Eugfene was 
created a prince of the Empire, with 
yearly allowances amounting to 
200,000 francs, and also became 
general of the chasseurs a cheval of 
the guard. Later he was made arch- 
chancellor of France, the wording of 
N.'s proclamation containing a warm 
eulogy of Ms step-son. 

On N.'s own testimony it is known 
that neither Eugene nor his mother 
and sister ever proffered one request 
for place or advancement, and the con- 
trast thus offered to the Bonapartes, 
who gathered round clamouring for 
all and everything, must have been 
gratefully appreciated by the Em- 
peror. In one outburst of irritation 



BEAUHARNAIS 

at his family's venomous attacks on 
the Beauharnais, N., after speaking 
kindly of his wife and step-daughter, 
said of the son : " If there is a cannon- 
shot, it is Eugene who goes to see 
what it is ; if I have to cross a trench, 
it is he who gives me his hand." The 
frank unselfish affection and yet fear- 
lessness of the young Beauharnais 
appealed to N., thoug-h he himself had 
been reproved by Eugfene when in- 
dulging in a liaison with Mme. Four^s 
in Egypt, after his bitter disillusion- 
ment over Josephine. 

In 1805 Eugene was appointed 
Viceroy of Italy, with great powers 
of administration. In 1806 he was 
declared the adopted son of the Em- 
peror, and a marriage was arranged 
between hiiro and Princess Augusta 
Amelia (q.v.), the eldest daughter of 
the new King of Bavaria. The cere- 
mony took place at Munich {15 Jan. 
1806) in the presence of the Emperor 
and Empress. The same year the 
Venetian Statesi had been annexed to 
the Italian kingdom, and Eugene was 
created Prince of Venice and declared 
successor of N. to the iron crown of 
Lombardy. The Italy over which he 
ruled included the districts between the 
Simplon Pass and Rimini, and after 
Pressburg (Dec. 1805) Dalmatia and 
Istria, whilst on the partition of the 
papal Statesi in 1808 the kingdom ex- 
tended southward's, in the region 
known as the Abruzzi, to the frontiers 
of the kingdom of Naples. 

In the administration of Italian 
affairs Eugfene's government imust be 
said to have given general satisfaction, 
and he showed undoubted capabilities 
in this field, whilst he commenced 
works of public utility and embellished 
Milan with some fine buildings. Draw- 
backs there were, for unfortunately 
many of those associated! in the 
government with the viceroy were 
needy and unprincipled, using his 
name in their oppressive measures and 
further by their influence making 
Eugene inaccessible to the people. 

In i8og the renewal of hostilities by 
the Emperor Francis and the irrup- 
tion of the Austrian troops under the 
Archduke John placed the Viceroy in 
a difficult situation, for he had at his 
command a force of only 16,000 men, 



34 



BEAUHARNAI8 

therefore, not daring" to risk a gfeneral 
action, he retreated with considerable 
loss on Verona, and would have been 
compelled to capitulate but for the 
timely arrival of General Macdonald 
(q.v.). When, however, the Austrians 
retreated to their own territory, owing* 
to the disasters to the main army on 
the Danube, Eugene, together with 
Macdonald, pressed them vigorously, 
one seizing on Trieste, the other on 
Clagenfurth ; and again in the month 
of June, while dispersing- the levies 
which the imperial princes were rais- 
ing, he g-ained a notable vlictory at 
Raab in the heart of the Austrian 
Empire. After this he rejoined N. and 
the main army in the Island of Lobau 
in the Danube, and won further 
laurels at Wag-ram (July 1809). 

In Dec. of i8og Eug-^ne was sum- 
moned to Paris to a sufficiently diffi- 
cult task — the question of a divorce 
between N. and his mother. There 
is no doubt that both Eugf^ne and 
Hortense thought, and rig-htly, that 
Josephine would be happier once the 
step was taken, for she lived in a 
constant atmosphere of jealousy and 
surrounded by the intrigue of the 
Bonaparte family. His feeling: of duty 
to the Emperor, his step-father, and 
loyalty to his interests must also have 
weig^hed with Eugene; but that the 
negotiation of a treaty of marriag^e 
between N. and the Archduchess 
Marie Ixmise and the consequent 
announcement of his success in the 
matter to the Senate were agreeable 
tasks to Josephine's son cannot be 
believed. He, however, carried them 
out, and that same year received the 
title of Grand Duke of Frankfort. 

During the campaign of 181 2 
Eugene commanded the fourth corps 
of the French Army, a large Italian 
conting-ent, and especially distin- 
g-uished himself at Borodino. His con- 
duct during the fearful retreat from 
Moscow was praised by N. and all 
about him. His military arrangements 
were well conceived and judicious, and 
the j>art which he played in the saving 
of many, besides his own corps, was 
deserving of the highest encomiums. 

Having returned to Italy, the 
Viceroy, well iinformed of Austria's 
disposition towards France, made pre- 



BEAUHARNAIS 

parations for raising an army for the 
defence of Italy, and in April 181 3 
when N. led his forces into Saxony 
Eugfene joined him and at Lutzen 
commanded the left Wing of the 
French Army, but with the g-rowing 
menace of Austria towards Italy the 
Viceroy was dispatched with all haste 
to his kingdom. 

The same year (181 3) Eugene took 
the field with the Franco-Italian Army, 
and issued a proclamation to the 
people of Italy, exhorting them to pre- 
sent a united front to an enemy who 
had for long triumphed through their 
disunion alone. To this there was prac- 
tically no response ; his Italian troops 
began to desert in considerable num- 
bers, whilst his father-in-law, the 
King of Bavaria, ranged himself 
among the hostile forces. Again, in 
Jan. 1 81 4, Murat, who had hitherto 
professed neutrality, concluded a pro- 
visional convention with England and 
a treaty of peace with Austria, though 
he did not ratlify the treaties he had 
made by entering the field with the 
Allies. Therefore the Viceroy, falling 
back on the Mincio, inflicted some 
severe defeats on the Austrians, and 
was able to hold in check their further 
plans. On the abdication of N. 
Eugene received instructions from the 
new war minister, General Dupont, 
directing him to conclude an armistice 
w^ith the Austrian Marshal Bellegarde, 
hostilities being now suspended. 
Further instructions came a month 
later to fall back upon Lyons, and 
with this event his Italian career may 
be said to end. 

Many have accused Eugene of 
having deserted N. at the last moment 
— ^when there was nothing further to 
be gained by remaining loyal. There 
does not seem to be adequate ground 
for this assumption. The fact seems 
rather to be that he stood unflinchingly 
steadfast though he received brilliant 
and seductive offers from almost every 
quarter. The intense hostility of the 
Austrian faction to the Bourbons had 
caused the Allies to consider Prince 
Eugene as a possible successor to N., 
and that this was known to Beau- 
harnaJis is indubitable, for N. himself 
declared that in 1814 his step^son had 
been assailed by the Allies with the 

35 



BEAUHARNAI8 

most tempting- and ambitious offers in 
the hopes of winning- him over to their 
side, but all to no purpose. 

Thoug-h the Cong^ress of Vienna 
would have amply compensated him 
for the loss of his viceroyaJty, Eugene 
contented himself with retiring- to 
Bavaria, residing at Munich, where he 
was created Due de Leuchtenberg 
and later Prince of Eichstadt. On 
Josephine's death he revisited France, 
and the Bourbons endeavoured to in- 
duce him to take service under them. 
This he refused to do, but thought it 
right to pay his respects to Louis 
XVIII. for various acts of courtesy 
towards his mother and himself. The 
monarch addressed him as "Prince," 
not as General Beauharnais, the name 
announced. 

During the Hundred Days Eug-^ne 
stood aloof, though it was strongly 
suspected that it was he who had con- 
veyed to N. the supposed intention of 
the allied sovereigns to transfer him 
from Elba to St. Helena, and certainly 
N., thoug-h his step-son had taken no 
active part in affairs, enrolled him 
among- the new peers of France and 
conferred upon hSm other honours. 
Yet it lis also true that the returned 
Emperor had said on the night of his 
arrival at the Tuileries : " I count upon 
Eugene, I think he will come back." 
But Beauharnais considered himself 
bound by Ms pledged word to the Tsar 
not to throw his sword into the scale, 
and from various evidence it may be 
gathered that on the slightest move- 
ment of his Eugene would have been 
arrested. It is certain that N. him- 
self never censured the conduct of 
Eugfene; instead, he had nothings but 
praise and constant affection for his 
adopted son. After Waterloo he used 
all his influence on behalf of his step- 
father, and further, when hearing of 
the ill-treatment of N. at St. Helena, 
he made many appeals to Alexander 
in order to mitigate "the suffering's 
of N. 

During- his viceroyalty Eugene had 
amassed an ample fortune, so that in 
his retirement he enjoyed an income of 
240,000 lire a year, thoug-h this in- 
cluded Josephine's 'bequests and his 
wife's dowry. 

Eug-^ne survived N. by only three 



BEAUHARNAIS 

years, dying at Munich on 21 Feb. 
1824, struck down by apoplexy. His 
children were : Josephine Maxi- 
milienne, bom 12 March 1807, created 
Princess of Bologna by N., and in 
May 1823 married Oscar Bernadotte, 
Crown Prince of Sweden ; Hortense 
Eug^^nie Napol^onne, born. 28 Dec. 
1808, and married on 22 May 1826 
Prince Frederick, Hereditary Prince 
of Hohenzollern ; Auguste Charles 
Eugene Napoleon, born 9 Dec. 1810, 
Colonel of Chasseurs, and on his 
father's death Duke of Leuchtenberg, 
married the Grand Duchess Maria, 
daughter of the Tsar of Russia; 
Auguste Emilie Eugenie Napol6onne, 
born 31 July, 181 2, and married in 
1829 Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil ; 
Louise Theodeline, born at Mantua 
13 April 1 81 4, and married to the 
Count of Wiirttemburg ; Maxiimilian 
Joseph, born 7^0ct. 1817, and married 
in 1835 the Queen Maria II. of Portu- 
gal, the eldest daughter of his 
brother-in-law, Dom Pedro, who had 
abdicated in her favour. But for the 
opposition of France, this son of 
Eugene Beauharnais would have 
reigned in Belgium. 

Beauharnais, Fanny de (1738- 
1813).— iV^e Marie Anne Frangoise 
Mouchard, was the wife of Claude de 
Beauharnais, uncle of Alexandre, the 
first husband of Josephine. She 
became well known in literary circles, 
gaining some repute by her writings, 
which were mostly verse. She corre- 
sponded with Voltaire, and her salon 
was one of the most brilliant of the 
time, frequented as it was by the 
literary celebrities and wits of the day. 
Her merits as an author, however, 
were much disputed and in some 
quarters ridiculed, as is evidenced in 
the well-known distich of Lebrun, 
translated by Byron as follows : 

Eg-1^, beauty and poet, has two little 

crimes ; 
She makes her own face and does not 

make her rhymes. 

It was said that M. Cubiferes, who 
saved her from the g^uillotine during 
the Terror, composed her verses and 
was also the cause of her separation 
from her husband. 



36 



BEAUHARNAIS 

Beauharnais, Francois de. Mar- 
quis ds la Fept^-Beauharnais (1756- 
1823). — Brother- m-law to Josephine 
by her first marriag'e to Alexandre de 
Beauiharnais (q-v.). He sat in the 
Assembly at Versailles as deputy for 
the nohlesse and opposed a motion 
broug-ht forward by his brother 
Alexandre (who had joined the Revolu- 
tionary party) designed to deprive the 
King- of the command of the army. A 
phrase he used in his opposing speech 
" that no amendment could be voted 
with honour " gave him his nickname 
Feal Beauharnais sans amendement. 
As an Emigre he served in the army 
of Cond6, and when N. became First 
Consul demanded that he should give 
place to Louis XVIII. Later, how- 
ever, he became a member of N.'s 
diplomatic corps and was French 
ambassador at Madrid. He displeased 
N. and was banished to Pologne 
(Poland), but reading this as Sologne, 
one of his country estates, the marquis 
retired there. N. was so amused that 
the error was not corrected. In 1814 
Beauharnais returned to Paris to re- 
new his allegiance to the Bourbons, 
and was made a peer of France. By 
h'is first marriage to his cousin, a 
daug^hter of Fanny de Beauharnais 
(q-v.), he was the father of Emilie 
(g.-y.), Mme. Lavalette. By his second 
marriage he had another daughter, 
who married first the Comte de 
Querelles and secondly M. Laity, who 
was attached to the household of 
Napoleon III. 

Beauharnais, Hortense Eugenie 

de (1783-1837) Queen of Holland, 

Duchesse de Saint-Leu, daughter of 
Josephine by her first husband, 
Alexandre de Beauiharnais (q.v.), wife 
of Louis Bonaparte (q-'^-), N.'s 
younger brother, created by him King 
of Holland, mother of Napoleon III., 
was born on 10 April 1783 at Paris. 
She was born when her father was 
living in the West Indies meditating 
a separation between himself and his 
wife, who at last in self-defence re- 
tired to the convent of Pantlemont 
and lodged a legal complaint against 
her husband. In these proceedings 
Josephine was vindicated, and in 1785 
a separation was arrang-ed, Hortense 
remaining in the custody of her 



BEAUHARNAIS 

mother. During- these negotiations 
the child had been placed out to nurse 
for nearly two years under the care 
of the M^re Rousseau at Chelles. In 
the summer of 1788 she went to 
Martinique with her mother, living 
there for two years. On their return 
Beauharnais, a Revolutionist, was 
President of the Assembly, and his 
wife and children were, therefore, 
people of importance. 

But danger signals were not want- 
ing, and Josephine, concerned for the 
safety of her children, confided them 
to the care of her friends, the Prince 
de Salen-Kirbourg and his sister the 
Princesse de HohenzoUern, who were 
leaving France. Beauharnais, how- 
ever, thinking- this impolitic as imply- 
ing suspiicion of the revolutionary 
government, caused them to be 
brought back. So Hortense returned 
to live With iher mother, and friends 
made at this period, among them 
Mme. de Remusat, have left descrip- 
tions of the delicate and wistful girl. 
With the g-rpwing distrust and sus- 
picion working the ruin of so many 
around him, Beauharnais thought it 
well to comply with the decree of the 
Convention that the children of nobles 
should be instructed in a trade. 
Accordingly Eugfene was apprenticed 
to a carpenter and Hortense to a dress- 
maker. In the spring of 1794 Beau- 
harnais was arrested and flung into 
prison, the fateful Carmelites, where 
shortly afterwards Josephine, also a 
prisoner, was lodged. Thus Hortense 
and her brother were left forlorn little 
figures in the Paris of the Terror. 
They -s^isited their parents in prison 
when permitted, convoyed by Marie 
Launay, the nurse or gouvernante, 
also by Fortune (q.v.), Josephine's lap- 
dog, who carried secret news to the 
prisoners by means of papers attached 
to his collar. Some of the petitions 
presented to the Convention and the 
Committee of Public Safety on the 
Beauharnais' behalf were signed by 
these two children aged respectively 
eleven and twelve years of ag-e. On 
23 July 1794 their father perished by 
the g-uillotine, on the 27th Robespierre 
fell. Ten days later and Josephine was 
free. 

Hortense now was placed under the 



37 



BEAUHARNAI8 

care of Madame Campan at her school 
at Saint-Germain, and it was from 
here in Jan. 1796 that she was taken 
to meet General Bonaparte. Both she 
and her brother were averse to the 
re-marriag^e of Josephine, but they 
were reconciled by the klindness of 
their step-father, who spared no 
trouble in regard to them, even mak- 
ing- time in the few days between his 
wedding and his departure for Italy 
to visit Hortense at Saint-Germain. In 
N.'s letters to Josephine mention is 
often made of Hortense and of gifts 
that he is sending her. When Bona- 
parte returned from Egypt, angered 
and disillusioned by the tales of his 
wife's unfaithfulness and determined 
to seek divorce, it was Hortense and 
her brother who brought about a re- 
conciliation. After the coup d'etat of 
18 Brumaire her school life ended, and 
at the Petit Luxembourg she took her 
place beside her mother and began 
her sodial career. Not strictly beau- 
tiful, but possessing great charm and 
accomplishments, she made many 
friends, while N. himself always 
pointed to her as a model of femininity 
and grace. She possessed a romantic 
temperament, and had Royalist sym- 
pathies, as did her mother, at which 
her stejvfather smiled and called her 
lis "little Chouanne" or "Ven- 
d^enne." She was slightly wounded 
in the affair of Niv6se, entering the 
theatre afterwards with her hand 
bound by a handkerchief. In the pri- 
vate theatricals, which N. enjoyed so 
much, Hortense was one of the most 
gifted among the performers, and was 
more often the recipient of her step- 
father's rare compliments than any 
other — another item in the score which 
the jealous Caroline Murat cherished 
against the Beauharnais — daughter as 
well as mother. 

Concerning the love affairs and 
marriage of Hortense many diverse 
views are held. According to Bour- 
rienne she loved Duroc, who when the 
match was proposed to him with diffi- 
cult conditions attached refused to 
consider it. This again is contra- 
dicted, and the opposing version is 
that Josephine, in her efforts to stave 
off the divorce which her husband's 
family were always prompting him to. 



BEAUHARNAIS 

opposed Duroc's suit, desiring that her 
daughter should marry a Bonaparte. 
It is further stated that Duroc, madly 
in love with Hortense, never forgave 
Josephine, and later refused her help 
and friendship. N. himself has left 
it on record that Josephine desired 
the Bonaparte connexion. Louis, his 
brother, also states this, and as to his 
feelings there are conflicting accounts 
— that he struggled hard against the 
arrangement; again, that he loved 
Hortense but that she repelled his love. 
The marriage proved a disaster, for 
Louis' disposition was embittered by 
his persistent ill-health, and his 
jealousy was worked upon by the 
Bonapartes, especially the sisters, to 
whom can be traced the infamous and 
unjustifiable scandal that Hortense's 
first child was the son of N. himself. 
By a study of dates and events, if by 
no other circumstances, this story is 
seen to be without foundation. The 
little NapM>Ieon Charles was adored by 
N., and was also regarded by 
Josephine as he who would save her 
from the ignominy of divorce. But 
this was not to be, for Louis refused to 
consider any idea of Ms brother's 
adoption of the child, giving the 
paltriest reasons as excuse. Hortense 
was made the most miserable of 
women by these disputes, further by 
her husband's command that she 
should not visit her mother. 

In 1804 Hortense became an Im- 
perial princess, and on 1 1 Oct. of that 
year her second son Napoleon Louis 
was born. Domestic unhappiness in- 
creased, and was not mitigated by 
the royal dignity when Louis became 
King and she Queen of Holland. In 
manner and dignity she was calm and 
unruffled, accepting all with a remark- 
able composure. Both Hortense and 
her brother present a striking contrast 
to the Bonapartes. In 1807 came the 
terrible blow of the death of the well- 
loved Napoleon Charles. The mother's 
grief was so intense that it affected 
her health, and several letters from N. 
to her on the subject are extant. 
This sorrow led to a reconciliation 
between ihusband and wife, which, 
however, did not last long. Hortense 
after some time returned to Paris, and 
in the spring of 1808 her third son, 



38 



BEAUHARNAI8 

afterwards Napoleon III., was born, 
and scandal ag-ain attacked the unfor- 
tunate queen, attributing- the paternity 
of the child to the Dutch admiral Ver- 
huell. This also has been proved to 
be a baseless fabrication. On her re- 
covery she pleaded with her step-father 
not to be sent back to the morblid and 
fretful Louis. Then came her hus- 
band's abdication, and while he lived 
in exile, indeed from this time on- 
wards, a virtual separation between 
husband and Wife was an accepted 
fact. At this time the intimacy with 
Charles de Flahault (q.v.) is saiid to 
have begun, and seems to have been 
regarded by Hortense as a morganatic 
union. In the matter of Josephine's 
divorce Hortense was of the opinion 
that her mother would be happier once 
it was settled than living on in the 
midst of intrigue and worry. 

She was always a devoted and atten- 
tive mother, the care and education of 
her sons being her first consideration. 
Her deepest sorrow was caused by 
Louis' repeated attempts to obtain 
possession of them. 

After the first abdication Hortense, 
like her mother, was treated with the 
greatest consideration and honour by 
the Allies. The Tsar extorted from 
the Bourbons the recognition of her 
title of Duchesse de Saint-Leu, and 
succeeded in retaining her property for 
her. To her Wellington unbent from 
his usual grimness, and when she went 
before Louis XVIII. to seek his inter- 
vention in the dispute with her hus- 
band over the custody of her children, 
he also was impressed by her distinc- 
tion and charm. During this time her 
house was said to be a rendezvous few- 
plotting Imperialists, and certainly her 
admiration for and devotion to the 
Napoleonic cause never waned, as 
her sons' careers testify. Josephine's 
death at this time was a severe trfal 
to Hortense, who, despite their diverse 
characters, bore a strong affection for 
her mother. 

During the Hundred Days she took 
her place beside N., occupying with 
her sons at the palace the place of 
Marie Louise and the King erf Rome. 
Hortense, though not long cognisant 
of the scandal circulated regarding the 
paternity of her first son, refused to 



BEAUHARNAIS 

listen to those who said that in so 
doing she would revive it. As his 
daughter, sihe was beside him in that 
troublous time. In her company N. 
paid a pathetic visit to Malmaison, 
so desolate without Josephine. 

After the second abdication the ex- 
queen, exiled from France, settled at 
Arenenberg with Louis Napoleon, the 
elder son being claimed by his father. 
Misfortune dogged her footsteps. Her 
dearly loved brother Eugfene died in 
1824 ; her second son also, after taking 
part in the Romagna rising in 1831. 
She was greatly interested in the 
political ambitions of Louis Napoleon, 
but also exceedingly apprehensive con- 
cerning them. After the failure of 
the Strasburg enterprise and his arrest 
her health visibly declined, and a year 
after (1837) she died, cheered, how- 
ever, by the presence of her son. At 
her grave, the only member of the 
Bonaparte family present was her 
inveterate enemy, Caroline Murat. 
Hortense was the author of some 
romances and the composer of several 
well-known songs, among them the 
famous Partant pour la Syrie, the 
words of which were translated by 
Sir Walter Scott. 

Beauharnais, Louise Emiiie de, 
Comtease de Lavalette. — Was the 
daughter of the Marquis de Beauhar- 
nais and granddaughter of the cele- 
brated Fanny de Beauharnais. In 1792 
her father joined the princes at Coblenz, 
while she and her mother remained 
in Paris. The latter was thrown into 
prison, where she remaiined for two 
years, while Emiiie was left to the 
care and mercy of some servants. 
After 9 Thermidor her mother was 
released, and she imjnediately sent 
her daughter to Madame Campan's 
establishment. In 1796 she married 
the Comte de Lavalette (q-v.) at N.'s 
wish, and tlie union proved a very 
happy one. In 181 5 her husband was 
sentenced to death, and in her anxiety 
and trouble over his fate and conse- 
quent escapve she lost her reason, which 
later, however, she recovered under 
the devoted care of her husband. A 
daughter, Josephine, was born of this 
union, who was married at the early 
age of fifteen (in consideration of her 
father's misfortunes) to M. de Forget, 



39 



BEAUHARNAIS 

of an Auverg-ne family. A son bom 
at the time of Lavalette's imprison- 
ment died almost immediately owing 
to the distraught condition of the 
mother. 

Beauharnais, Stephanie Louise 
Adrsennede (1789-1860). — Was the 
daughter of the Comte Claude de 
Beauharnais and Mdlle. de Lesay- 
Mamesia, whom he had married early 
in life. On her mother's death a rich 
Englishwoman adopted her and sent 
her to a convent, her father practically 
deserting her. N., however, hearing 
of the girl through Josephine, ordered 
that she be brought to Paris ; she was 
then sent to Madame Campan to com- 
plete her education. At the age of 
seventeen (1806) she became a member 
of the Imperial family. The hereditary 
Prince of Baden fell in love with the 
young girl and asked her hand in 
marriage. N. favoured the match, 
but Stephanie, it is said, objected. 
Madame de R^musat (q.v.) makes the 
circumstance an opportunity for innu- 
endoes against N., which have been 
extensively quoted, though of evidence 
there is practically none. On 7 April 
1806 the marriage took place at the 
Tuileries with great pomp and splen- 
dour, especially in the gowns and 
jewels worn by Josephine and the 
members of the family. The bride 
received magnificent presents and 
trousseau. Her father was present 
at the ceremony, though playing a 
very small part in the marriage of 
his daughter. 

At first the union seemed to promise 
anything but happiness owing to 
Stephanie's dislike of her husband. 
After a while, however, she proved 
an admirable wife, and on N.'s down- 
fall her husband indignantly refused 
the solicitations of his family to re- 
pudiate his wife, who when a long 
and painful illness overtook him 
nursed him with exemplary care and 
affection. Two daughters and a son 
were born of the union. The former 
were Josephine, who married Prince 
Charles of Hohenzollern, and Marie, 
who became the wife of the Duke of 
Hamilton in 1843. The son died in 
infancy — or is supposed to have 
done so — though the case of Kaspar 
Hauser (q.v.) showed that many 



BELGIUM 

thought otherwise, or that if the 
child did die it was by the designs 
of his uncle, Louis Augustus Wil- 
liam. The Princess Stephanie was 
warmly welcomed at the court of 
Napoleon HI. She died in i860. 

Beauregard, Fourreau de. — 
N.'s physician-in-chief at Elba, had 
formerly been veterinary surgeon to 
the imperial stables. He paid N. 
daily visits, frequently when he was 
in his bath, and brought the gossip 
of the place. To his suggestion as 
to the probable results of drinking 
some hot soup N. replied tartly : 
"In spite of Aristotle and his cabal, 
at my age I know how to drink, and 
do not need to be taught by you." 

Beig^ium. — Belgium, conquered by 
Pichegru in the campaign of 1794, 
was formally ceded to France by the 
Treaty of Luneville on 9 Feb. 1801. 
Throughout the Consulate and the 
Empire it remained practically a part 
of France, receiving the Code Napo- 
leon, and sharing in the fortunes of 
the greater country. At the same time 
it is evident that Bonaparte regarded 
it as a valuable possession, for he held 
to it tenaciously during the whole of 
his career. In 1805, after the Battle 
of Trafalgar, when the Emperor was 
anxious to treat with the Tsar of 
Russia, the latter sent his aide-de- 
camp, Dolgorouki, to ask that French 
troops be withdrawn from Belgium, 
but N. refused to comply. Again in 
1 814 he resolved that Belgium must 
not be ceded. Much of the interest 
of the famous Hundred Days centred 
in Belgium. The French and Prussian 
Armies were there, and there N, con- 
centrated with all his available forces. 
And on its historic soil the Empire re- 
ceived its death-blow at Waterloo. On 
the downfall of N. Belgium was united 
with Holland to form the kingdom of 
the Netherlands, ruled over by Prince 
William Frederick of Nassau, repre- 
senting the restored house of Orange. 
An attempt made by Talleyrand to 
reserve the grand duchy of Luxem- 
bourg and the see of Lidge to France 
was frustrated. The union of Belgium 
and Holland (agreed upon at the Con- 
gress of Vienna, 31 May 181 5) was not 
altogether a happy arrangement. The 
Belgians were Catholics, the Dutch 



40 



BERESINA 

Protestants ; and to reIiig"ious differ- 
ences were added those of race and 
temperament. Some fifteen years later 
the countries were once more separate. 

Beresina, Battle of the.— Dur'ing 
the terrible retreat from Moscow 
Oudinot was ordered by N. to con- 
struct bridg-es for the passag'e of the 
French troops across the Beresina at 
Studienka. The majority of the men 
had accomplished the crossing-, when 
at 8 a.m. on 28 Nov. 1812 the Rus- 
sians, under Tschitschag-ov and Witt- 
genstein, attacked. Ney, Oudinot and 
Victor, with the remaining French 
troops, bravely held the Russians while 
the rest of the grande armSe passed 
over. The Russian actual offensive 
was repulsed, but the losses of the 
French were disastrous, and probably 
amounted to about 25,000 men, num- 
bers of whom were drowned in the 
river. 

BergTi Grand Duchy of,— A small 
Napoleonic state formed from the 
Prussian duchy of Cleves and the 
Bavarian appanage of Berg, ceded by 
Bavaria in 1806 in exchange for Ans- 
bach and the eastern part of Cleves. 
It was valued by N. as a military out- 
post of considerable importance, but 
was not actually annexed. Never- 
theless, it received French codes, 
taxes, coinage, and was under French 
government from 1808 onwards for 
about five years, while at the same 
time its manufactures (the fruit of 
considerable industrial activity) were 
prevented by a tariff from entering 
France. Its position was thus anoma- 
lous and not too advantageous. In 
1806 the Emperor entrusted the 
government of the grand duchy to 
Prince Joachim Murat, a brilliant 
soldier and the husband of Caroline 
Bonaparte, who so constantly com- 
plained of the narrow confines of the 
principality that N., to appease his 
ainbjtious sister, from time to time 
enlarged it by additions of territory 
taken from Prussia, till in 1808 it 
numbered 900,000 inhabitants. In 
that year Murat, who had carried 
out and contemplated many works of 
public improvement, was called away 
and made King of Naples, and was 
followed as ruler of Berg* by an Im- 
perial Commissioner, Count Beugnot, 



BERNAIX>TTE 

whose period of office was attended by 
excellent results, though N.'s huge 
levies of taxes and demand for con- 
scripts partially destroyed the fruits 
of good government. Shortly after 
the appointment of Count Beugnot 
the grand-ducal title was given to 
Prince Napoleon Lx>uis, a cMld of 
four, and the son of King Louis of 
Holland. On the fall of N. the grand 
duchy of Berg was governed, together 
with Saxony and certain other terri- 
tories, by the "Central Administration 
of Reconquered Territories," a body 
established by the Allied Powers; and 
at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 it 
was transferred to Prussia, 

Bergen-op'Zoom, Battle of. — 
Fought on 19 Sept. 1799 between 
35,000 British and Russians under the 
Duke of York, and the French under 
Vandamme. The British were suc- 
cessful in the centre and left, forcing 
back in confusion the whole line of 
the French, who lost 2,000 killed 
and wounded in this part of the field, 
besides 1,000 prisoners; but on the 
right the Russians were utterly routed, 
and owing to this disaster the Duke 
of York was obliged to withdraw his 
troops to his original jKvsition. The 
Russian losses were over 3,500 killed 
and wounded and 26 guns. 

Bernadotte, Jean Baptiste 
Jules (1763-1844).— French marshal, 
who became Charles XIV., King of 
Sweden and Norway (1818) and 
founder of the present royal house 
of Sweden, was born at Pau in the 
Lower Pyrenees on 26 Jan. 1763, scm 
of Henri Bernadotte, procurator at 
Pau, and Jeanne St. Jean. Originally 
the family name was De Poney, but 
at the beginning of the seventeenth 
century was changed to Bernadotte. 
At an early age he enlisted in the 
French Army, his first experiences 
being gained in Corsica. On the out- 
brealc of the Revolution his outstand- 
ing military qualities advanced him 
rapidly, and he became a commander, 
when Kl^ber, noticing his capabilities, 
obtained for him an appointment as 
general of brigade in the army of the 
Sambre and Meuse, and in that 
capacity he fought in the Battle of 
Fleurus, when he wasi appointed 
general of division. In 1797 he 



41 



BERNADOTTE 

joined the army of Italy with rdn- 
forcements, and distinguished himself 
in the Tag^liamento expedition. Here 
he first met Bonaparte. On the peace 
of Campo Formio he was dispatched 
by Bonaparte to Paris to present to 
the Directory the standards taken at 
the Battle of Rivoli. From the first 
there seems to have existed! a latent 
distrust between N. and Bernadotte. 
They were both ambitious, and the 
latter, recog-nising- this as weU as the 
greater genius of his rival, allowed 
hlis feelings to degenerate into jealousy 
and enmity. N., considering no one 
a rival, advanced Bernadotte when it 
was in his power to do so, and 
showered many favours upon him. In 
the Egyptian campaign, however, he 
was not offered a command. On i8 
Jan. 1798 he was sent on an em- 
bassy to Vienna — the principal object 
of which, he was assured, was to 
satisfy the court of Austria that in 
marching on Rome the French Army 
had no intention of interfering with 
the papal government, but only to 
obtain reparation for the murder of 
General Duphot. He had not arrived 
at his destination a week before the 
intelligence was received that Switzer- 
land had been invaded and Rome 
declared a republic by Berthier. Feel- 
ing nonplussed and angry, he did not 
appear at court, while, further, when 
the Viennese went wild with joy at 
the military preparations designed for 
use against the French, Bernadotte, 
thinking this an insult to himself and 
his country, gave a reception in his 
residence in honour of the French 
victories, hoisting the tricolor over the 
embassy. A mob assembled, howl- 
ing for the flag to be removed, and 
when refused forced the gates and 
doors, demolished the furniture, tore 
the offending colours to shreds, and 
threatened the life of the ambassador. 
This incident caused his immediate 
departure from Vienna, and, indig- 
nant at the indifference with which 
it was treated by the Directory, he 
for some time refused to serve them 
in any capacity. On 16 Aug. 1798 
he married Desir^e Clary (q.v.), the 
daughter of a Marseilles banker and 
sister of Joseph Bonaparte's wife. In 
1799 Bernadotte, being commander-in- 



BERNADOTTE 

chief of an army of reserve, proceeded 
to the Rhine and drove from Frankfurt 
the agents of Austria and the imigris. 
After the minor revolution of 19 May 
1799 Bernadotte was appointed min- 
ister of war. The Directory had 
thought to find in him one too ex- 
clusively military in his ambitions to 
have any political leanings, but they 
soon discovered their mistake — that 
his tendency was to be a master, not 
a tool. He wrote to the generals, call- 
ing on their patriotism and that of 
their soldiers, and recommending dis- 
cipline and unity of action ;: he urged 
Moreau to institute an inquiry into the 
conduct of the governors who had sur- 
rendered the Italian fortresses; he re- 
modelled several divis^ions of the army 
and infused throughout the service a 
spirit which had declined since Bona- 
parte's departure for Egypt. The in- 
fluence thus acquired disquieted the 
Directory, and they were further 
alarmed on learning that many had 
tried to influence him to seize the reins 
of government and diepose them. On 
14 Sept. 1799 Bernadotte was removed 
from the ministry on the plea that he 
was required to resume the active 
duties of his profession. He withdrew 
into the country, but though out of 
office he occupied' a conspicuous place 
in the eye of the public, and hearing of 
Bonaparte's return from Egypt en- 
deavoured, With the revival of the old 
jealousy, to turn official and public 
sentiment against him. On his land- 
ing at Fr^jus, Bernadotte gave his 
opinion that Bonaparte should be pro- 
ceeded against according to the laws of 
military discipline, and on hearing that 
it was proposed to give the returned 
general a public dinner he said : " I 
would advise you to put it off till he 
accounts in a satisfactory manner for 
having abandoned his army." He de- 
clined to help in the revolution of 
Brumaire (Nov. 1799), but did not hesi- 
tate to accept a share in the results 
brought about by the efforts of others. 
Under the Consular government he 
was appointed a councillor of state and 
commander-in-chief of the western 
army operating in La Vendue. He 
dispersed the remaining Ohouans, and 
on 6 June 1800 prevented the English 
landing at Quiberon. Bernadotte, 



42 



BERNADOTTE 

however, attempted to turn the unrest 
in western France to his own account, 
and entered into a conspiracy against 
the First Consul, who, on hearing of it, 
whlile taking means to quell the in- 
surrection, contented himself with 
appoiinting the intriguing general as 
ambassador to the United States. By 
skilful tactics Bernadotte delayed the 
equipment of the frigates that were to 
convey him to America, so that his 
departure was postponed successfully 
and indefinitely. In 1804 he was im- 
plicated in Moreau's conspiracy, but 
again N. spared him for his wife's 
sake. On the proclamation of the 
Empire (May 1804) Bernadotte was 
made one of the eighteen marshals of 
France, and though in the councils of 
state he had strenuously opposed the 
establishment of the Legion of Honour 
he wiillingly accepted the command of 
the eighth cohort of that body. From 
June 1804 to Sept. 1805 he acted as 
governor of the recently occupied 
Hanover with command of an army 
corps, with which he participated in 
the movement which shut Mack up in 
Ulm. In March 1805 he vi^as chosen 
president in absentia of the electoral 
college of Vaucluse, and was also 
returned to the conservative Senate by 
the department of the Lower Pyrenees. 
For his services at Austerlitz (2 Dec. 
1805;) Bernadotte was rewarded by the 
principality of Ponte Corvo (5 June 
1806). During the campaign against 
Prussia, however, though near at hand 
with his army corps, he took no part 
in the battles of Auerstadt and Jena, 
and this action naturally aroused the 
suspicion and anger of the Emperor, 
who severely reproached him. But, to 
quote Bignon : " It was the destiny of 
this marshal to have a rdle apart in all 
the great battles fought by the Em- 
peror. His conduct was at least 
strange at Jena, it will not be less so 
at Wagram." But meanwhile there 
was Eylau (8 Feb. 1807). Here again 
he stood idle with his troops in the 
full tide of battle. He made use of the 
fact that N.'s o ders to him had been 
captured by the Cossacks, but this 
excuse could not serve, for General 
Hautpolt, in touch with N. and Berna- 
dotte, communicated to the latter the 
orders he had himself received from 



BERNADOTTE 

N. and the fact that a decisiive 
engagement was imminent. General 
Hautpolt was killed, and Bernadotte 
and his friends did not hesitate to 
assert that the dead officer had not 
communicated with him. This might 
have been believed but for the well- 
known traits of Bernadotte's character, 
bes^ides there being actual witnesses to 
testify to the fact of Hautpolt 's com- 
munications. N., however, seemed 
satisfied with the fact of his orders to 
the marshal having been captured by 
the enemy. In 1808 a large combined 
force of French, Spaniards, and Dutch 
was placed under Bernadotte to 
operate against Sweden. He passed 
with them into Fionia and Jutland, 
which came under his government. 
The transport, however, was defective^ 
and all his vigilance could not prevent 
the defection of the Spanish General 
Romana together with his contingent. 
The expedition was therefore doomed 
to failure for N.'s cause, but for his 
own was the best p)OSsible, for by 
his moderation and humanity in the 
government of Denmark he lalid the 
foundations of his future exaltation to 
the throne of Sweden. 

In 1809 the renewal of war with 
Austria again summoned Bernadotte 
into the field, where he commanded the 
Saxon contingent. At the battle of 
Wagram the Saxons with a few of the 
French troops constituted the left wing 
of the grand army. They fought with 
great bravery, but were unable to 
resist the attack of the Austrians, and 
were giving way when Bernadotte 
ordered General Dupas to support 
them, to which the latter replied that 
he had received strict commands not to 
leave his post. Enraged at this, the 
marshal took his case to headquarters, 
where the Emperor pointed out that 
such a happening was inevitable in the 
mass of detail connected With such 
large and complicated movements, and 
that it was quite possible for him, 
Bernadotte, to hold the position with 
his numerical strength. The marshal 
stormed and raved ; he demanded his 
dismissal, and returned to Paris. 

On hrs arrival at Paris the intelli- 
gence was received of the landing of 
the English at Walcheren. N.'s 
ministers, in his absence, promptly put 



43 



BERNADOTTE 

in motion a force to defend Antwerp, 
and lit was in this connexion that 
Fouche delivered the proclamation 
sufficiently menacing and insolent to 
the absent Emperor, while the same 
minister in urg-ing- the sulking Berna- 
dotte to accept the command told him 
not to afford N. an occasion to stigma- 
tize him as one who declined to serve 
his country. But already N, had re- 
lented towards Bernadotte, and had 
himself given permission to General 
Clarke to send the marshal to defend 
Antwerp. He undertook the command 
and forced the invaders to evacuate all 
the points they had invested, including 
the island of Walcheren. 

In 1810 he was appointed governor 
of Rome, and was about to proceed 
to his post when he received the news 
that he was elected successor to the 
Swedish throne, there being no heir of 
Charles XIII. Two reasons were re- 
sponsible for this choice — ^firstly, that 
Sweden, always in fear of Russia and 
a possible war with that power, 
favoured the election of a soldier, a 
choice which had the support of the 
Swedish Army ; secondly, the kindness 
and moderation with which, as has 
been stated, he treated not only the 
Danes but the many Swedish prisoners 
falling into his hands told largely in 
his favour. Another reason was that 
the country hoped to secure the pro- 
tection of N. by their choice. 

On 2 Nov. 1810 Bernadotte made his 
entry into Stockholm ; on the 5th he 
received the homage of the estates 
and was adopted by Charles XIII. 
under the name of Charles John. As 
the monarch was too old and infirm to 
-discharge the duties of royalty and the 
dissensions of the council of state were 
•many and troublesome, the govern- 
ment of the country, and especially the 
control of foreign affairs, passed into 
the hands of the new Crown Prince. 
His ambition, only inflamed by his 
-accession of rank and power, sought 
further aggrandizement, this time in 
the matter of territory. At once he 
conceived the plan of adding Norway 
to Sweden. His plan was to treat with 
the anti-Napoleonic powers and per- 
suade them to punish Denmark for her 
loyalty to France by wresting Norway 
from her. By the secret treaty with 



BERTHIER 

Russia (5 April 1812) Bernadotte 
undertook to send 30,000 men to take 
the field against N. in Germany in 
return for a promise from Alexander 
guaranteeing to Sweden the possession 
of Norway. On the outbreak of the 
Franco-Russian war a conference was 
arranged between the Tsar and Berna- 
dotte at Abo on 30 Aug. 181 2, and 
the result was that Alexander under- 
took to place an army corps of 35,000 
men at his disposal for the conquest 
of Norway. He took part in the 
Leipsic campaign, and although the 
Allies had to point out to him that his 
first obligation was to themselves, pro- 
perly objecting to the use of subsidies 
in his plot for Norwegian subjugation 
before their common enemy was over- 
come, he held the approaches to Berlin 
in a skilful manner against Oudinot in 
Aug. and Ney in Sept. After Leipsic 
he put aside any further obligation to 
the Allies, and proceeded on his way 
to cripple Denmark and seize Norway. 
This he accomplished, and on 14 Nov. 
18 1 4 Norway was united to Sweden, 
On 5 Feb. 1818 Charles XIII. died, 
and Bernadotte succeeded as Charles 
XIV, of Sweden and Norway. He 
died at Stockholm on 8 March 1844. 
He was succeeded by his son Oscar 
(1799- 1 859), to whom N, had stood 
godfather, giving him the name Oscar 
when, as he himself said, "he was 
raving mad with Ossian." On 19 June 
1823 this prince married Princess 
Josephine Maximilienne, the daughter 
of Eugene de Beauharnais, and grand- 
daughter of the Empress Josephine, 

Berthier, Louis Alexandre (1753- 
1815).— Prince of Neuchdtel and 
Wagram, marshal of France and chief 
of staff under N, ; was born at Ver- 
sailles on 20 Feb, 1753. His father, 
an officer of the corps de ginie, gave 
his son an excellent education in 
mathematics and the military art 
generally, and this contributed materi- 
ally to his later success. He enlisted 
at the age of seventeen and served on 
the staff, in the engineers and the 
Prince de Lambesq's dragoons. Next 
he went with Rochambeau to North 
America, in 1780, as lieutenant, return- 
ing with a colonelcy. Various staff 
posts and a military mission to Prus- 
sia occupied his energies up to the out- 



44 



BERTHIER 

break of the Revolution, when he was 
chief of staflf of the National Guard 
of Versailles, and in this capacity he 
protected the aunts of Louis XVI., 
assisting- in their escape (1791). He 
joined the Republican cause and 
became chief of staff to Marshal 
Luckner, and in the Argonne campaig^n 
played a notable part under Dumouriez 
and Kellermann, In the Vendean war 
of 1793-5 he again served with dis- 
tinction, and in 1796 became general 
of division and chief of staff to the 
army of Italy under Bonaparte. Ber- 
thier's peculiar gifts soon appealed to 
the commander-in-chief, who knew 
well how to appreciate the thorough 
grasp and mastery of detail, the 
capacity for work, the comprehension 
and accuracy which Berthier pos- 
sessed to such a remarkable degree. 
Henceforth to the end of N.'s career 
he was beside him, and his life may be 
said to be bound up in the history of 
the Napoleonic wars. " During the 
space of eighteen years and through- 
out sixteen campaigns — in Italy, 
Egypt, Germany, Poland, Russia, 
France — he rarely quitted his master's 
side ; for, during that long period, he 
had no comanand in the field. As N.'s 
major-genSral he was occup5ed in le- 
ceiving his instructions and transmit- 
ting them to the respective armies. He 
accompanied him in his carriage, and 
as they rode along Bonaparte would 
examine the order-book and the report 
of the positions : Berthier noted down 
his directions, and, at the first station 
they came to, made out' the orders 
and individual details with admirable 
decisiion and dispatch." After the 
brilliant camipaign oif 1796 and the 
peace of Campo Formio, he was left in 
charge of the army, and Sn this capacity 
organized the Roman Republic (1798). 
He served with N. in Egypt, and on 
the return to Paris assisted in the 
coup d'dtat of 18 Bruma'ire (Nov. 
1799), after which he held the position 
of minister of war for a while. 
Throughout the Marengo campaign 
Berthier M'as nominal head of the army 
of reserve, but as the First Consul 
was with the army he was, of course, 
simply filling his old position of chief 
of staff to N., while he was subse- 
quently employed 5n civil and dSplo- 



BERTHIER 

matic negotiations. On the proclama- 
tion of the Empire, Berthier was made 
a marshal of France, and in 1806, after 
Austerlitz and Jena, was first created 
Due de Valengin and next Prince de 
Neuchatel. In the foUowiing year he 
was made vice-constable of the 
Empire. He served in the Peninsula 
(1808), and after the Austrian cam- 
paign (1809) became Prince of 
Wagram, N. also gave him large 
gifts of money and property, thus 
amply rewarding his services. A 
passion of Berthier' s for Madame Vis- 
conti was carried to a ridiculous point, 
and at last N. ins^isted on the Prince 
of Wagram marrying a niece of the 
King of Bavaria. He was in his old 
post in the Russian campaign (1812), 
Germany (1813), and France (1814). 
N. undoubtedly placed his faith in Ber- 
thier when all the others were desert- 
ing Mm, but when he saw beyond a 
doubt that the one upon whom he had 
depended most and whom he had 
favoured beyond all was also a traitor, 
the blow was truly a severe one. 
Savary in his memoirs even asserts 
that Berthier was engaged in a plot 
to assassinate N., a statement which 
was also supported by the Duchesse 
d'Abrantes. He accepted a peerage 
from Louis XVIII. With alacrity, and 
was one of the King's companions on 
his entry into Paris. While N. was at 
Elba he kept in touch with Berthier, 
even going so far as to acquaint him 
with his projects. The position was 
difficult, too much so for Berthier, 
who, in trying to steer a middle course^ 
was suspected by both N. and Louis. 
During the Hundred Days he with- 
drew to Bamberg, where his death 
occurred on i June 1815. His death 
was strange and the mystery of it is 
unfathomed. Some say that he com- 
mitted suidide from remorse on hear- 
ing and seeing Russian troops march- 
ing to invade France. This he did by 
flinging himself from a balcony. But 
another version states that he was 
pushed therefrom by masked members 
of a secret society. In an estimate of 
Berthier's career it cannot be said that 
he was a great commander, for in 
1809, when he was in temf>orary com- 
mand of the French Army in Bavaria, 
an unlooked-for series of reverses was 



45 



BERTHOLLET 

the result; but he certainly possessed 
qualities which made him an ideal chief 
of staff to a g^eneral of N.'s geniius. 
Borthollet, Olaude Louis, 

Count (1748-1822).— Famous French 
chemist ; was borh at Talloire, Savoy, 
in 1748, He studied at Chamb^ry and 
Turin, and afterwards resided at Paris. 
There he soon became well loiown 
among-st men of learning and was 
made a member of the Academic des 
Sciences. In 1794 he was appoiinted 
teacher of chemistry in the normal 
schools of Paris, and was one of those 
selected in the following year to 
ransack the collections of Italy and 
bring to France their most valuable 
treasures of art and science. He was 
a member of N.'s sdentific expedition 
to Egypt, initiating with his colleagues 
the Institute of Egypt; and in Aug. 
1799 ^^ returned to Paris with Bona- 
parte. On the formation of the Con- 
sulate, Berthollet was given a seat in 
the Senate and made a grand officer of 
the Legion of Honour. During the 
Empire he received the title of count, 
but was one of the first to desert N. 
when the latter fell on evil days. After 
the Restoration he entered the House 
of Peers. He died at .^rcueil in 1822. 
Berthollet is remembered in the world 
of chemistry by his Essai de statique 
chimique (1803), which treats of the 
problems of chemical physics, and his 
researches have proved to be the 
foundation of the present-day theory 
of chemical affinity. 

Bertrand, Henri Gratian, Count 
(1773 - 1844). — French general ; was 
born at Chateau Roux. He was a 
student at the outbreak of the Revolu- 
tion, and entered the army as a volun- 
teer. N. created him colonel in 1798 
during the expedition to Egypt, then 
brigadier-general, and after the battle 
of Austerlitz he became the Emperor's 
aide-de-camp. N. had the greatest 
personal confidence in him, and in 1813 
appointed him grand marshal of the 
court. After the battle of Leipsic it 
is certain that but for his initiative the 
French Army would have been totally 
destroyed. He evinced his affection 
and gratitude to N. by accompanying 
him to Elba in 1814; returned with 
him in 1815, and held a command dur- 
ing the Waterloo campaign. On N.'s 



BESSIERES 

final defeat he went with him to St. 
Helena, only returning to France after 
the Emperor's death. Louis XVIII. 
permitted hini to retain his rank, and 
in 1830 he was elected a deputy. In 
1840 the honour of bringing N.'s 
remains to France was delegated to 
him. He survived this event by four 
years, dying at his native place. His 
name is synonymous with fidelity in 
the Napoleonic annals. 

Bessi^res, Jean-Baptiste, Duke 
of Istria (1768-1813).— French marshal; 
was born on 6 Aug. 1768 at Preissac 
in the department of Lot. His parents 
were of very humble origin. Having ob- 
tained appointments as privates in the 
Constitutional Guard of Louis XVI., 
he and Joachim Murat went to Paris 
in 1 791 ; and it is said that on the 
dreadful 10 Aug. 1792 Bessiferes was 
instrumental in saving the lives of 
several of the Queen's household at 
the risk of his own. He took part in 
the war with Spain as a non-commis- 
sioned officer, and later distinguished 
himself in the army of the Eastern 
Pyrenees and that of the Moselle. In 
1796 he joined the army of Italy as 
captain, and soon attracted N.'s atten- 
tion by his acts of great personal 
bravery. One day as he was advanc- 
ing against an Austrian battery his 
horse was killed under him. He 
quickly disengaged himself, leaped on 
a piece of the artillery, and fought 
with his sabre the gunners who de- 
fended it. Two of his men galloped 
to his aid and enabled him to bring 
the gun away in triumph. 

After Rivoli, Bessiferes had the 
honour of being sent to Paris with the 
captured colours, and when Bonaparte 
formed his corps of Guides he was 
given the command. This was the 
beginning of his fortune, and from this 
time he rose with N. and shared in his 
honours. In the Egyptian campaign, 
as chef de brigade, he distinguished 
himself at Acre and Aboukir. At 
Marengo (1800) Bessiferes led a 
splendid cavalry charge; in 1802 he 
was made general of division; in 1804 
he was given a marshal's baton ; and 
he served in the campaigns of 1805, 
1806 and 1807 as colonel-general of 
the guard. The grand eagle of the 
Legion of Honour was bestowed on 



46 



BESSI^RES 

him lin 1805, and ihe was g-iven the 
title of Due d'Istria in 1809. Early in 
the Peninsular War he was g'iven a 
command, and fixed his headquarters 
at Burgos. There he successfully 
quelled the insurrections which were 
continually breaking out amongst the 
inhabitants, and eventually he gained 
tJieir confidence. Later he won a g-reat 
victory over the Spaniards at Medina 
de Rio Seco after a terrible battle, 
whiich was believed by N. to be of the 
utmost importance, and which opened 
the way to Madrid. Bonaparte said of 
Bessi^res at this time : " A wound 
received by Bessiferes would give a 
locked-jaw to the whole army. Not 
an inhabitant of Madrid, not a 
peasant of the valleys, that does 
not feel that the affalirs of Spain are 
involved in the affairs of Bessi^res." 

Bessi^res was with the grande 
artnie in the valley of the Danube in 
1809, and he succeeded in checking- the 
Austrians even in the midst of their 
victories. He had a horse killed under 
him at Wag^ram, and his clothes torn 
open by a cannon-ball. Thinking that 
he was killed, his men raised a mourn- 
ful cry, and Napoleon is said to have 
remarked: "Bessi^res, the ball which 
struck you drew tears from^ all my 
guard ; return thanks to it ; it ought to 
be very dear to you." 

He took over the command of the 
army in the north towards the end of 
1809, and was successful against the 
British Walcheren expedition. Two 
years later he returned to Spain as 
g-overnor of Old Castile and Leon. He 
was chief of the Guard Cavalry at 
Borodino in 181 2 and in the retreat 
from Moscow ; and the opening of the 
following campaign in Prussia saw 
him in command of the cavalry of the 
whole army, preparing for his usual 
victories. Three days after the begin- 
ning* of the campaign he was eng-ag^ed 
in forcing a defile near Poserna, and 
had advanced, as his custom was, into 
the thickest of the fight, when a 
musket-ball struck him on the breast 
and he fell lifeless. His death was 
concealed from the men whom he had 
commanded so long and by whom he 
was so dearly loved till after the vic- 
tory at Liitzen on the following day ; 
and the Emperor himself deeply 



BIBLIOTHEQUE 

mourned his death. He was buried at 
Les Invalides, and a monument was 
raised to his memory by the King* of 
Saxony on the spot where he received 
his death-blow. 

Bessiferes, besides being" the Em- 
peror's faithful and trusted friend, was 
one of his most able commanders, 
more especially perhaps of cavalry, 
and his oourag^e and coolness in danger 
made him a safe leader. He was ex- 
ceedingly humane, and did all in his 
power to mitigate the horrors of war. 
As has been stated, he was personally 
beloved by his soldiers, and even by 
his enemies; and it is said that the 
inhabitants of the towns in Spain 
which had been under his mild 
administi'atlion assembled after his 
death to offer up masses for his soul. 

Biblioth^que du Camp, H*» 
(Egyptian Expedition. 1798-9). — N. 
commissioned Bourrienne {q.'v.) to pur- 
chase a library of books for his use 
during this expedition. When com- 
pleted this library am,ounted to about 
320 volumes. The subjoined list is 
taken from Bourrienne. " The follow- 
ing list of books, for a camp library, 
I copy from a paper in his own hand. 
The volumes were in i8mo, and will 
show what he preferred in science and 
literature" : 

Science et Arts Volumes 

Mondes de Fontenelle . . i 
Lettres k une Princesse d'AUe- 

magne . , . . . .2 
Le cours de I'Ecole-Normande . 6 
Aide necessaire pour I'Artillerie i 
Trait6 des Fortifications . . 3 
Trait^ des Feux-d 'artifice . i 



Geographie et Voyages 
Geographic de Barclay 
Voyages de Cook 
Voyages Fran^aise de La Harpe 

Histoire 
Plutarque . 
Turenne . 
Cond6 
ViUars . 
Luxembourg 
Duguesclin 
Saxe 
M^moires des Marechaux de 

France . 
President Henault 



12 

24 



12 
2 
4 
4 
2 
2 
3 

20 



47 



BLUCHER 



Chronologie 






2 


Marlboroug-h 




4 


Prince Eug-^ne . 




6 


Histoire philosophique 


des 




Indes . . . 




12 


D'Allemagne 




2 


Charles XII. . 




I 


Essai siur les Moeurs 


des 




Nations 




6 


Pierre-le-Grand 




I 


Polybe 




6 


Justlin 




2 


Arrien 




3 


Tacite 




2 


Tite-Live 







Thucydide 




2 


Vertot 




4 


Denina 




8 


Fr^d6ric II. 




8 


Podsie 






Ossian 




I 


Tasse 






6 


Arioste 






6 


Hom^re 






6 


Virg-ile 






4 


Henriade . 






I 


Tel^maque 






2 


Les Jardins 






I 


Les Chefs-d'OEuvre du Th 


eatre- 




Fran9ais 




20 


Po^sie L^^res (choisies) 




lO 


Fontaine . 







Romans 






Voltaire . 




4 


H^loise 






4 


Werther . 






I 


Marmontel 






4 


Romans Ang-lais 






40 


Le Sage . 


. 




10 


Provost 


. 




10 


Politique et Morale 






Le Vieux Testament . 




— 


Le Nouveau ,, 




. — 


Le Coran . . . . 




— 


Le Vedam 




— 


Mythologie 




— 


Montesquieu — L'Esp 


rit des 


Lois 


— 



BlUcher, Gebhard Leberecht, 

Prince von (1742-1819).— Prussian 
field-marshal ; was born at Rostock in 
Mecklenburg on 16 Dec. 1742. When 
he first entered the military service, 
at the age of fourteen, he was fighting 
agaSnst the Prussians ;;but having been 
made prisoner by them in the Pomer- 
anian campaign (1760), he was in- 



BLUCHER 

duced to enter the Prussian Army, 
where he became an officer in the Red 
Hussars, showing early evidence of 
the fiery and intrepid spirit which dis- 
tinguished him in later years. But a 
wild and dissipated character lin pri- 
vate life proved a bar to promotion ; 
in high dudgeon at having been passed 
over, he retired from the army in 1773, 
turned his attention to farming, and 
only resumed his military career after 
the lapse of fifteen years. Thereafter he 
took part in several campaigns against 
the French, and was promoted to 
lieutenant-general in 1801 and in 1806 
to general. A dashing cavalry leader, 
he made a brilliant display at Auer- 
stadt, charging the French again and 
again ; but he was forced to withdraw 
and finally to surrender at Ratkau. 
Having been exchanged for another 
prisoner. General Victor, he became 
military governor of Pomerania, a 
post of which he was deprived in 1812, 
when a too free expression of opiinion 
brought him into temporary disgrace 
'with the authorities. However, when 
the War of Liberation (181 3-1 81 4) 
broke out Bluoher was given the com- 
mand of the army of Silesia, with 
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau on his 
staff, and 90,000 men — Russians and 
Prussians — ^under him. Blucher's most 
notable performance in the campaign 
of 1 81 3 was his defeat of MacdonaJd 
at the Katzbach, in Silesia. He also 
played a considerable part at the battle 
of Leipsic. Early in 1814 he crossed 
into France, where he was several 
times vanquished ; but his wonted 
courage and energy suffered no 
diminution, and at length he defeated 
the French at Laon in such wise that 
the fate of the French cause was 
sealed. With his Silesian troops he 
marched on Paris, wthich he entered 
on 31 March. He showed a violent 
desire to wreak vengeance on the 
French capital for the hardships the 
Prussians had suffered, and was only 
restrained with difficulty by his allies. 
On 3 June he was made Prince oi 
Wahlstadt, after which he retired to 
Silesia. 

The return of N. from Elba called 
the hot-headed veteran once more to 
the field. At the outset of the Water- 
loo campaign he sustained a severe 



48 



BLUCHER 

defeat at Ligny, but this was more 
than obliterated by his subsequent 
action at Waterloo. At great incon- 
venience to himself he brought his 
troops to Wellington's aid, assisted 
in crushing the enemy, and relent- 
lessly pursued the scattered remnants 
of their army. For the second time 
he marched linto Paris at the head of 
his troops. It is an open question 
whether Bliicher's timely arrival at 
Waterloo was or was not a precon- 
certed move. Some authorities hold 
that the idea orig!inated with Gneise- 
nau, the tactical genius of the Prussian 
army ; others, again, attribute lit to 
Bliicher himself. There is a rather 
wild story that Wellington rode to 
Wavre under cover of night to ask 
for reinforcements, and this during 
the progress of the battle ! However 
this may be, the opportune interference 
of the Prussians was undoubtedly one 
of the most important factors in the 
battle. After the second taking of 
Paris Bliicher retired from active life. 
He died at Krieblowitz, in Silesia, on 
12 Sept. 1819. 

Notwithstanding the success of his 
arms, Bliicher is by no means the 
most attractive of historical charac- 
ters. It is true that he possessed 
certain qualities of value to a sol- 
dier — courage, daring, energy and 
indomitable perseverance. N. said 
of him once : " Le vieux diable 
m'a toujours attaqu6 avec la m^me 
vigueur ; s'il etait battu, un instant 
apr^s il se rencontrait pr^t pour le 
combat." And that fitly summarizes 
Blii ether's military capacity. Of tac- 
tical skill he had none; he was 
obliged to depend for strategy on 
Gneisenau and other officers of his 
staff. His patriotism so-called was 
nothing more nor less than an in- 
tense hatred for N. and for the 
French generally — a feeling which 
likewise actuated his army as a driving 
power, taking the place of more 
lofty and noble sentiments. A story 
is told illustrative of Bliicher's hate. 
While taking his sword exercises, it 
is said, he used to lunge at an 
imaginary foe, saying with each 
vicious thrust, "Napoleon!" Again, 
when the French asked for an armi- 
stice during his march on Paris he 



BONAPARTE 

consented to grant it only on condi- 
tion that N. was delivered up to him 
alive or dead. Needless to say that 
the French did not give up their P^re 
Violette to the hot-headed Prussian I 
Then, too, Blucher was unscrupulous 
in war, without respect for neutral- 
ities ; while only the combined dis- 
suasion of the Allied commanders 
sufficed to prevent him from blowing 
up the bridge of Jena and terrorising 
Paris. Add to this that in private life 
he was much given to self-indulgence, 
a man of unbridled temper and pas- 
sions, and we have a none too pleasing 
portrait of this hero of Waterloo. 

Boissy d'Angflas, Fran9ois An- 
toine de (1756-1828).— French states- 
man ; was bom in 1756, and after being 
well educated took up literature. In 
1789 he began his public life as deputy 
to the States-General, and during the 
Revolutionary period played a promi- 
nent part, showing himself possessed 
of much firmness, disinterestedness 
and courage, besides being extremely 
level-headed. ;^is desire for modera- 
tion caused suspicions of royalism to 
gather around him, and he was accused 
of disloyalty to the republic. On 18 
Fructidor he was banished, and settled 
in England until the formation of the 
Consulate. He became a member of 
the Tribunate in 1801, and N. made 
him a senator in 1805. He was in 
favour of the Emperor's abdication in 
1814, but returned to his allegiiance to 
N. during the Hundred Days, being 
proscribed on the second Restoration 
for a short time. He worked hard for 
the liberty of the press, and amongst 
his literary works perhaps the best 
known is his Essai sur la vie et les 
opinions de M. de Malesherhes. He 
died in 1828. 

Bonaparte, Carlo Maria.— See 
Buonaparte, Carlo Maria., 

Bonaparte, Charles Louis 
Napoleon (1808 - 1873). — Became 
Emperor of the French under the 
title of Napoleon III. ; was the third 
son of Louis Bonaparte, brother of 
the first Emperor, and Hortense 
Beauharnais, the daughter of 
Josephine. Brought up and educated in 
Switzerland, he became head of the 
Napoleonic dynasty upK)n the death of 
the King of Rome. For some years 



49 



BONAPARTE 

he resided in exile in America and 
England, from time to time making 
abortive attempts to have himself pro- 
claimed Emperor of the French, the 
last of which resulted lin his 'imprison- 
ment in the fortress of Ham, where he 
passed his time in literary work. After 
a confinement of nearly five years he 
succeeded in making" his escape to 
England. The revolution of Feb. 
1848 gave him his opportunity, and, 
hastening to France, he was elected to 
represent no fewer than four depart- 
ments in the Constituent Assembly. 
In the same year he was elected 
president of the French Republic by 
a majority of more than four million 
votes. Almost immediately he com- 
menced to combat the measures of 
the Assembly, and on 2 Dec. 1851, 
with the assistance of the army, he 
•dissolved the constitution, was elected 
president for ten years, and shortly 
afterwards was proclaimed Emperor. 
His policy was a mixture of callous 
opportunism and repression, and in 
foreign affairs he assumed the airs of 
a dictator. No extended sketch of his 
tortuous career can be afforded in this 
place, in which he is only noticed in 
virtue of his family connexion with 
his great namesake. In 1853 he mar- 
ried Eugenie de Montijo, a Spanish 
countess, who, it was whispered, urged 
him forward in his schemes of annexa- 
tion. In July 1870 he declared war 
upon Prussia, with results that are too 
widely known to necessitate their re- 
hearsal. On the conclusion of hostili- 
ties he joined his wife at Chislehurst, 
in Kent, where he died, a broken man, 
on 9 Jan. 1873. 

Bonaparte, Charles Lucien 
Jules Laurent (1803-1857).— Prince 
of Canino, eldest son of Lucien Bona- 
parte, brother of N. In 1822 he mar- 
ried his cousin, Z^naide Bonaparte, the 
daughter of Joseph. With the excep- 
tion of the years 1846-49, when he took 
part in the revolution in Italy, his 
career was that of a scientist rather 
than a politician. At the age of twenty- 
two he began the publication of an 
American Ornithology (4 vols., Phila- 
delphia, 1825-33), which fully estab- 
lished his reputation. Many other 
works in zoology followed, including 
the three volumes of the Iconographia 



BONAPARTE 

della fauna Italica (Rome, 1832-41). 
When forced to take refuge in Hol- 
land, after the political troubles in 
Italy, he again turned his attention 
to science, and published further 
works on his researches. His family 
consisted of eight children, who sur- 
vived him : Joseph Lucien Charles 
Napoleon, Prince of Canino (1824-65), 
who died leaving no heir; Lucien 
Louis Joseph Napoleon, born in 1828, 
took holy orders in 1853, and became 
cardinal in 1868 ; Julie Charlotte 
Z6naide Pauline Laetitia Desiree Bar- 
tholom^, who married the Marquis 
of Roccagiovine ; Charlotte Honorine 
Josephine, who married Count Primoli ; 
Marie Desiree Eugenie Josephine 
Philom^ne Jacqueline,^ married to the 
Count Campello; AugTiste Amelie 
Maximilienne Jacqueline, married to 
Count Gabrielli ; Napoleon Charles 
Gr6gdire Jacques Philippe, born 
1839, married the Princess Ruspoli, 
by whom he had two daughters ; 
and Bathilde Aloyse Leonie, married 
to the Comte de Cambac^r^s. This 
branch is now extinct. 

Bonaparte, Christine Eienore, 
n4e Boyep (1773-1800). —The first wife 
of Luoien Bonaparte (q-v.), was the 
daughter of an innkeeper of St. 
Maximin, where Lucien met her when 
stationed at that town as commissary 
to the army. They were married in 
1794, the bride being two years older 
than her husband, who was then no 
more than nineteen. 

She was a beautiful woman, and of 
a lovable disposition, and deservedly 
beloved by Lucien. After the marriage 
she was received by Joseph and his 
wife, also by that old friend of the 
Bonapartes, Mme. Permon, a fact 
which is mentioned by Laurette Per- 
mon (Duchesse d'Abrantes) in her 
Memoirs : " ... when Lucien made 
his strange match with Mile. Boyer 
my mother received her like a daughter, 
and was the first to discover an angel 
under the form of a woman." 

She bore two daughters to Lucien, 
Charlotte in 1796, and Christine 
Egypta (so named because her birth 
took place at the time of N.'s Egyp- 
tian expedition) in 1798. She died in 
1800, deeply mourned by her husband, 
who had her buried at his chateau of 



50 



BONAPARTE 

Plesslis-Chamant, raising- a beautiful 
monument to her memory. 

Bonaparte, Jerome (1784-1860). 

— Brother of N. ; born at Ajaccio 15 
Nov. 1784. When political developments 
compelled the family to leave Corsica 
in 1793 Jerome accompanied them ; was 
then educated at Juilly, where he re- 
mained until the revolution of 1799 
made N. head of the consular govern- 
ment. He then left college, and in his 
fifteenth year entered the navy. Affec- 
tionate but headstrong- and impetuous 
by nature, a more than usual number 
of indiscretions and extravag-ances 
were indulged in by Jerome. N., fond 
of his youngest brother, remonstrated 
frequently and sharply, but with little 
avail ; he called him a "petit polisson " 
with some truth, for in later years the 
hopes placed in Jerome were disap- 
pointed. About this time his ship, 
with others, was ordered to the West 
Indies, and there, blockaded by the 
British, Jerome left his ship and 
travelled through the United States. 
At Baltimore he met a Miss Elizabeth 
Patterson, with whom he fell violently 
in love and married, though still a 
minor (1803). This proceeding, a 
direct breach of discipline and French 
law, angered N., and when Jerome, 
returning to France, brought his wife 
with him, she was forbidden to land 
on French soil. In an interview at 
Alessandria, Jerome tried in vain to 
prevail upon his brother to revoke his 
decis^ion. His wife proceeded to Eng- 
land, living for a while at Camberwell, 
where sihe gave birth to a son, Jerome 
Napoleon (1805)., 

In the spring of 1805 Jeroime was 
placed in command of a small squad- 
ron in the Mediterranean, and in Nov. 
sailed again for the West Indies with 
a small fleet under Admiral Willaumez, 
the object being to ravage and devas- 
tate those islands. The ships were, 
however, scattered by severe storms, 
but on the return voyage Jerome suc- 
ceeded in inflicting damage on British 
commerce, landing in France Aug. 
1806. On his arrival in Paris he was 
decorated with the cordon of the 
Legion of Honour, made a rear- 
admiral and created a prince of 
France. In the campaign of 1806 
he commanded a division of South 



BONAPARTE 

Germans, Bavarians and Wiirttem- 

burgers ; while, after Jena, several 
Prussian towns surrendered to him. 
The question of his marriage was still 
unsettled. A divorce was commanded 
by the Emperor, and Jerome, fickle 
and venal, now showed no opposition. 
This divorce, however, the Pope re- 
fused to sanction, but N. annulled the 
marriage by an imperial decree, and 
Jerome, in accordance with the poli- 
tical designs of the Emperor, married 
the Princess Catherine of Wvirttem- 
burg (1807). By the Treaty of Tilsit 
(7 July 1807) he became King of the 
new kingdom of Westphalia. But it 
needed a man of vastly superior calibre 
to Jerome to carry out the system de- 
vised by N. for the subjugation of the 
German peoples, in essence a system 
of denationalization. His words of 
advice to Jerome sufficiently indicated 
his wishes, " that the sight of just 
laws and good administration would 
do more than the greatest victories 
to consolidate the Napoleonic system 
in Germany." Jerome certainly had 
good intentions, like all amiable and 
easy natures, and to agreeable man- 
ners he united sympathy and a facile 
quickness of mind. But any good 
qualities were rendered nugatory by 
his lack of restraint, his boundless 
self-esteem and self-w^ill, above all by 
his love of vulgar display and base 
pleasures. All the efforts of his am- 
bitious brother to inspire him with 
some measure of his own limitless 
ambition, to awake within him a desire 
to accomplish great things, were fruit- 
less. To Jerome kingship merely re- 
presented a wider field for luxury and 
display. In the words of an eminent 
authority : "The scanty revenues of 
the kingdom were wasted on worthless 
favourites. The pay of the troops was 
in arrears, and in the spring of 1809 
a serious mutiny broke out." Before 
this the King was helpless. His un- 
popularity was apparent on all sides, 
even though the connexion with 
France had in many ways benefited the 
pveople. Feudalism was swept away ; 
Jews had been emancipated from all 
repression ; the Code Napoleon was 
introduced and education given an 
impetus. To balance this, however, 
the financial conditions were deplor- 



5' 



BONAPARTE 

able; despite heavy taxation the state 
debt increased enormously, and when 
the country was commanded to supply 
a conting-ent for the Russian cam- 
paign of 1 812 bankruptcy stared them 
in the face. Before this, however, 
different risings took place, and the 
kingdom was torn by dissensions. 
N., bitterly disappointed, spared his 
brother no reproach for his weakness, 
if not cowardice. "Your kingdom," 
so ran his letter, "has no police, no 
finances and no organisation. It is 
not with display that the foundation 
of monarchies are laid. What is hap- 
pening to you now I fully expected. 
1 hope it will teach you a lesson. 
Adopt ways and habits suited to those 
of the country which you govern." As 
one writer expresses it: "The failure 
of N. in Germany was largely due to 
the follies of Jerome." 

In the famous campaign of 181 2 
Jerome again failed his brother. To 
him had been entrusted a strateg^ic 
movement that, if successful, would 
have been of inestimable advantage to 
the French, but, either from indolence 
or ignorance, he failed ignominiously, 
whereupon N. disgraced him on the 
instant by subjecting him to the con- 
trol of Marshal Davout. He returned 
to Cassel, and to conceal his morti- 
fication resumed his usual round of 
amours and pleasures. In the follow- 
ing year, when Germany was evacu- 
ated by the French, his subjects, aided 
by Russian and Saxon troops, forced 
Jerome to abandon his capital. In 
great haste he put himself at the head 
of a regiment of French hussars, which 
he had taken into his service, and fled 
with his ministers and generals to 
Coblentz. From an intercepted letter 
of his an idea may be gained of the 
inefficient condition of all about him. 
He complains of losing a great number 
of his hussars because, as he says, 
"they tumbled off their horses when 
they attempted to charge the enemy." 
He retired to France, but in 181 4 spent 
some time in Switzerland and later at 
Trieste. He was at the latter place 
when N. returned from Elba. Though 
closely watched by the Austrian gov- 
ernment, he contrived to embark in a 
frig-ate and reached Paris, where he 
assisted at the meeting- of the Champ 



BONAPARTE 

de Mai and took his seat in the Cham- 
ber of Peers. He soon after set off 
with the Emperor and the army. N., 
at St. Helena, acknowledg-ed that he 
had found Jerome greatly improved, 
and that at the Battle of Waterloo he 
had discovered considerable military 
talent. I n that famous campaign he had 
commanded a division on the French 
left wing, and attacked Hougomont 
with considerable vig-our and obstinacy. 
After N.'s second abdication Jerome 
went to Wiirttemburg, but was threat- 
ened with arrest unless he relinquished 
his wife and child. Living at Gop- 
pingen, he was subjected to strict sur- 
veillance, but was permitted at last to 
retire to Augsburg. From thence he 
proceeded to Trieste, where he resided, 
with intervals spent in Italy and Swit- 
zerland. In 1835 his wife died. He 
at last returned to France in 1847, 
and under Louis Napoleon was made 
governor of the Invalides, and sub- 
sequently marshal of France and 
president of the Senate. His children 
were Jerome Napoleon (1805-70) {q.v.) 
by his American marriage ; and three 
by his union with Catharine of Wiirt- 
temburg-, namely, Jerome Napoleon 
Charles, who died young, Mathilde 
Laetitia Wilhelmina (q.'v.), and Napo- 
leon Joseph Charles Paul (1822-91) 
(q.v.), afterwards known as Prince 
Napoleon. This son became heir to 
the fortunes of the Napoleonic dynasty. 
Jerome died on 24 June i860. 

Bonaparte, Jerome Napoleon 
(1805 - 70).— Was the son of Jerome 
Bonaparte, brother of N., by his mar- 
riage with Elizabeth Patterson, of 
Baltimore. His birth took place at 
Camberwell in 1805, but he returned 
with his mother to America soon after- 
wards, and there he spent his life, re- 
siding chiefly at Baltimore. In 
appearance he is said to have borne a 
marked resemblance to his famous 
uncle, the Emperor Napoleon. In 
later years he occasionally met his 
father, with whom he was on amicable 
terms, and who for some time made 
him a large allowance. 

Bonaparte, Jerome Napoleon 
(1832- 93).— Son of the above ; grand- 
son of Jerome Bonaparte, brother of 
N. He was educated in America, but 
afterwards entered the French Army 



52 



BONAPARTE 

with which he served in the Crimea 
and in Italy. 
Bonaparte, Joseph (1768-1844).— 

The eldest of N.'s brothers; was born 
at Corte, in Corsica, on 7 Jan. 1768. 
He was educated at the college of 
Autun in France, returning^ to Corsica 
in 1784 after the death of his father. 
He had been intended for the church, 
and his education was undertaken with 
this end in view, but when the moment 
arrived for his own decision he re- 
fused to embrace the ecclesiastical pro- 
fession and desired to enter upon a mili- 
tary career. This his younger brother 
N. opposed, pointing- out, with worldly 
wisdom, the superior prospects offered 
by the Church, also the suitability of 
Joseph's character for that calling. 
His affairs thus remained undeter- 
mined for a time, but after some un- 
successful attempts to engage in 
business he studied law at Pisa, be- 
coming a barrister at Bastia in 1788, 
and a briefless one for some little 
while. About this time he was elected 
a councillor of the municipality of 
Ajaccio. 

Like his brothers Napoleon and 
Lucien, Joseph had espoused the demo- 
cratic and French cause, and when the 
Paolists gained the ascendancy in 
Corsica he, with the rest of the family, 
fled to France. The excesses of the 
Jacobins at Paris revolted him, and he 
went to Marseilles where the others 
had settled. There, in 1794, he 
married Mile. Julie Clary, the 
daughter of one of the richest mer- 
chants of the city. Together with the 
rest of the Bonapartes he was con- 
cerned in the various measures for the 
recovery of Corsica, and in oonnexSon 
with these went to Genoa in 1795. 
Later, through the influence of 
Salicetti, he became commissary- 
general, and in that capacity accom- 
panied N. in the early part of the 
Italian campaign in 1796; taking 
part in the negotiations with Sardinia 
and carrying the news of the armistice 
of Cherases to the French Govern- 
ment. He again turned to Corsican 
affairs, and proceeding to Leghorn 
took part in the French expedition to 
the island, and afterwards, with Miot 
de Melito, the commissioner appointed 
by the French Republic, did much to- 



BONAPARTE 

wards the reorganization of the 
country. In the same year he secured 
a diplomatic appointment under the 
Directory, and was sent as ambassador 
to the Court of Parma and soon 
after to Rome. It is stated that he 
received revolutionary instructions 
from N. and the Directory, and acted 
accordingly. He protested against 
the nomination of the Austrian general 
Provera to the command of the Roman 
troops, and in this as well as in other 
matters discussed during the early 
part of his embassy he was successful. 
Among other things he obtained the 
diminution of the Pope's military 
force, the expulsion of the French 
emigrants from the papal dominions, 
and the release of all persons im- 
prisoned on account of their religious 
opinions. In Dec, 1797 the republican 
faction in Rome sought to obtain the 
assistance of the French ambassador, 
but he refused all approbation. A 
rising took place outside the French 
embassy in which the French general 
Leonard Duphot was killed, Joseph 
Bonaparte immediately demanded his 
passports, and left Rome, which soon 
after became a republic. On his 
return to Paris he entered upon a 
parliamentary life and took his seat in 
the Council of Five Hundred as one 
of the members for Corsica. Together 
with his brother Lucien he had some 
share in the plots and negotiations 
with Sieyfes and Moreau which 
brought about the coup d'etat of 18 
Brumaire fg Nov. 1799) and placed N. 
at the head of the consular govern- 
ment. Joseph refused to enter the 
Ministry, but was made a member of 
the Council of State and the Corps 
Legislatif. In the negotiations for 
the Concordat he also had a share, but 
is said) to have criticized the measure 
as "ill-advised and retrograde." As 
minister plenipotentiary he concluded 
a convention with the United States at 
Mortfontaine (1800), his country 
house, which gives its name to the 
treaty. His success as a negotiator 
determined the government to send 
him to the Congress of Lun^ville, 
over whidh he presided, and here, 
seconded by the victories of Marengo 
and Hohenlinden' he concluded the 
treaty of peace with Austria (1801). 



53 



BONAPARTE 

In the following- year he and Maret 
represented France at the Congress of 
Amiens, where, with the British 
Envoy, Lord Cornwellis, peace was 
arrang^ed and signed between England 
and France (1802). This triumph of 
diplomacy did much in helping N. to 
obtain the Consulship for life (i Aug, 
1802) and the attendant privileges 
then g-ranted, as that of the selection 
of his successor. On this question 
disagreement arose between N. and 
Jo^ph. The first wished to recog^nize 
the son of Louis Napoleon as his heir, 
in view of the fact that neither himself 
nor Joseph had a male heir. But the 
latter, with his Corsican view of 
primog-eniture, claimed the recognition 
of his right as heir. When the French 
EmpJire was proclaimed in May 1804 
the friction was acute, and N. offered 
to Joseph the crown of Lombardy as a 
bribe if he would renounce all claim of 
succession to the throne of France. But 
this Joseph firmly refused to do. At this 
period he had been using- all his diplo- 
matic talent to avert a rupture with 
England, but with, no success (1803). 
During the Emperor's campaign in 
Germany he presided over the Senate 
and was chief of the French Govern- 
ment. On signing the Peace of Press- 
burg, in Dec. 1805, N. issued a decree 
announcing that the Neapolitan 
dynasty "had ceased to reign," and 
Joseph was placed at the head of the 
French Army destined to invade that 
kingdom, with the promise that the 
Neapolitan crown was his if he chose 
to accept it. He was accompanied by 
Massdna, Gouvion St. Cyr, and other 
generals, and the conquest of the 
mainland was speedily accomplished, 
though some places such as Gaeta, 
Reggio, and the rock of Sylla re- 
sisted for some time. The Bourbons 
retired to Sicily, protected by a British 
force. In pursuance of a^ imperial 
decree, Joseph on 30 March 1806, was 
proclaimed King of Naples and the 
Two Sicilies, whilst N. also allowed 
him) still to maintain hisi claams to the 
French succession. The government 
of the kingdom presented many diffi- 
culties, as is recorded in the memoirs 
of Count Miot de Melito, whom Joseph 
appointed minister of war. Finan- 
cially the conditions were those of an 



BONAPARTE 

almost bankrupt treasury, whilst the 
population were degraded and danger- 
ously fickle in character. From out- 
side came the dang-ers of Bourbon 
intrigfues and plots and attacks from 
the British stationed at Sicily. Yet 
the new king set about making 
several important changes in the con- 
stitution and introduced as many of 
the elements of that of France as his 
subjects would allow. He suppressed 
the monastic orders, abolished feudal 
rights, disposed of various national 
domains, applied the produce to the 
liquidation of the public debts, 
equalized the taxes, and established an 
available sinking fund. He also 
simplified the legal code ; endowed 
schools, colleges and hospitals ; 
founded thirty establishments for 
gratuitous instruction ; restored profes- 
sorships in the different branches of 
helles-lettres and science, and inaugu- 
rated a new system) of roads and 
bridges. In Naples itself, besides em- 
bellishing the city, he introduced a 
general system of lighting, and com- 
manded workshops to be constructed 
for the lazzaroni. All these improve- 
ments were obtained by means of per- 
suasion and by a skilful amalgamation 
of the interests of all parties, and in 
everything he honestly endeavoured to 
fulfil the aims he had expressed to his 
consort in 1806: "Justice demands 
that I should make this people as 
happy as the scourge of war will per- 
mit." In time he might have become 
a great favourite, but the best plans 
did not always turn out successfully, 
added to which the fact of his own 
necessities and the exactions of N. 
compelled him to levy oppressive con- 
tributions on his subjects. Some 
defects in his personal character 
weakened his influence to a consider- 
able degree. He was too mild and 
supine ; too feeble to exert any moral 
force, therefore becoming the passive 
instrument of some of N.'s unpopular 
measures, and frequently too indolent 
to attend closely to details of business 
he at times abandoned the reins of 
government to Salicetti, Roederer, and 
Arcambel, his three chief ministers. 

By this time N. had come to the 
decision to dethrone the Spanish Bour- 
bons. It is stated by some authorities 



54 



BONAPARTE 

that the original plan of the Emperor 
was to give Lucien the throne of Spain, 
but a breach had occurred between the 
two brothers, and the crown was 
offered to Joseph, who accordingly 
quitted his kingdom of Naples for that 
of Spaiin. Here he was faced by almost 
insuperable difficulties. When he was 
within a day's journey of Bayonne 
N. issued a decree (1808) proclaiming 
Joseph King of Spain and the Indies 
and guaranteeing the independence and 
integrity of his dominions in the four 
quarters of the world. But the Spanish 
populace were infuriated, and, despite 
the good: intentions and aims of Joseph, 
his efforts were futile. He had entered 
the country with as few Frenchmen in 
his suite as possible ; had appointed 
Spaniards to some of the most im- 
portant posts in the ministry ; the 
civic and provincial authorities had 
displayed their nominal submission ; 
the municipal oflficialsi of Madrid 
had decorated the city to welcome the 
new monarch, but the people were not 
to be seen, or those who were in the 
streets stood silent. As the cavalcade 
passed, the money scattered among 
them lay where it fell, for the French 
themselves to pick up ; and the theatres 
which had been thrown open to the 
people were left to Frenchmen. The 
popular feeling rose higher every day, 
a movement that ultimately proved 
fatal to all N.'s plans as regards 
Spain, and Joseph's stay in Madrid 
was of short duration. The intelli- 
gence of the defeat of Dupont's army 
at Baylen (q.v.) having reached him, 
together with the news that the 
Spaniards were advancing upon Mad- 
rid, rendered his retreat desirable. 
Before retiring to Vittoriia he gener- 
ously gave leave to the individuals 
composing his administration eiither 
to follow his fortunes or take the 
national side if they preferred it. At 
the end of the year he was reinstated 
by N., whose presence had sufficed to 
restore victory to the French arms, 
but his sovereignty continued to be 
little more than titular, and the sub- 
ordinate position he was relegated to 
proved increasingly irksome, so that 
on four occasions he offered to abdi- 
cate. The Emperor merely replied by 
ordering him to govern with more 



BONAPARTE 

energy. He was, however, a king 
without revenues, and he would have 
been without even the semblance of 
authority if he had not likewise been 
nominated N.'s lieutenant in Spain, 
by virtue of which title he was em- 
powered to dispose the French army 
of occupation as he willed — a power 
which was extremely unacceptable to 
the French generals. Joseph had 
neither sufficient power nor military 
genius to direct the operations which 
the unforeseen changes of general 
affairs rendered necessary. In 1810, 
independent of Joseph's authority, 
N. placed the northern and north- 
eastern provinces under the command 
of French generals as military dis- 
tricts. Joseph again protested and 
again was unanswered. The extreme 
measures exercised by the French 
military commanders were disapproved 
of by the one whose authority and 
rule they were intended to establish. 
By all possible means he endeavoured 
to conciliate the people, to become a 
constitutional monarch, but was forced 
by circumstances to be "the mere in- 
strument of a military power," a role 
temperamentally repellent to one of 
Joseph's character. To such a pass 
did matters come that at last he pro- 
ceeded to Paris to exact better terms 
from his despotic brother, or, failing 
that, to abdicate. But, again yield- 
ing to N.'s will, he returned to his 
uneasy throne with the grant of a 
monthly subsidy of 500,000 francs and 
the promise that the army of the 
centre, the smallest of the five French 
armies, should be under his control. 
This was in 181 1, the same year that 
the Emperor united Catalonia to 
France. At the news of Wellington's 
victory at Salamanca {22 July 1812) 
Joseph left his capital, and though the 
British retired in the autumn of that 
year the authority of the French king 
never recovered from the blow. The 
next vear saw the end of his nominal 
rule. At the Battle of Vittoria (21 
June 18 1 3), where Wellington utterly 
overthrew the chief French army com- 
manded by himself and Marshal Jour- 
dan, Joseph barely escaped with his 
life ; his baggage, artillery, military 
chest and court equipage, even his 
very crown, falling into the hands of 



55 



BONAPARTE 

the British. On ihis arrival in Paris 
N., infuriated, disgraced him and sent 
him into retirement at Mortefontaine. 
To the minister of war the irate Em- 
peror wrote (July 1813) concerningf the 
fallen King- of Spain : " His (Joseph's) 
behaviour has never ceased to bring 
misfortune upon my army ; it is time 
to make an end of it." 

While N. was engaged in tihe cam- 
paign of 1814 Joseph remained at 
Paris, and was appointed lieutenant- 
general of France and commandant of 
the national guards, for the two-fold 
purpose of assisting Marie Louise in 
the government and of defence of the 
capital. Here again he fell short in 
performance of the Emperor's wishes, 
and his part in affairs was certainly 
inconsiderable. He authorized Mar- 
mont on 30 March to make a truce 
with the Allies if they should be in 
overpowering numbers. On the sur- 
render of the capital he at once re- 
tired and joined the Empress at Blois, 
and, on his brother's abdication, a few 
days after, he went to Switzerland, 
purchasing an estate in the canton of 
Vaud. 

On N.'s escape from Elba in March 
1 81 5 he returned to Paris, but the part 
he played during the Hundred Days 
was undistinguished. That N. de- 
pended upon him to some extent is 
indicated by that request of his, four 
days after Waterloo, that Joseph 
should urge the Chamber of Deputies 
to a scheme of national resistance. 
But in this he was the last man ever 
to succeed. After the defeat at 
Waterloo he aided his brother's plans 
for escape. When N. surrendered to 
the captain of H.M.S. Bellerophon at 
Rochefort, Joseph embarked for the 
United States, where he adopted the 
title of Comte de Survllliers and 
attempted to promote plans for his 
brother's escape or rescue from St. 
Helena. In the year 1830 he pleaded 
for the recognition of the claims of 
the Duke of Reichstadt, N.'s son, to 
the throne of France, but was unsuc- 
cessful. Later he visited England, and 
next resided for a time at Genoa and 
Florence, the home of his race, where 
he died on 28 July 1844. From his 
correspondence and memdirs it may be 
seen that towards N. Joseph always 



BONAPARTE 

bore a warm affection, despite the 
friction that often arose between them 
owing largely to differences of charac- 
ter, one being fitted by nature for 
domination and leading of men, while 
Joseph's qualities were adapted for 
private life and, to some extent, diplo- 
macy. " In discharge of the higih 
duties which I confided to him," said 
N. at St. Helena, " he did the best he 
could. His intentions were good, and, 
therefore, the fault rested not so much 
with him as with me who raised him 
above his proper sphere." This was 
amply borne out by facts. The Em- 
peror finished the above remarks with 
the following : " He is very like me 
in person, but handsomer." This was 
also true to a certain extent, but 
Joseph utterly lacked the strength and 
vitality which made bis brother's ap- 
pearance so impressive. 

Joseph left two daughters, Z6naide 
Charlotte, the eldest, who married her 
first cousin Charles, the eldest son of 
Lucien, and Charlotte, married also to 
a first cousin. Napoleon Louis, the 
second son of Louis Bonaparte. 

Bonaparte, Louis (1778-1846).— 
Was born at Ajaccio on 2 Sept. 1778, 
and was baptized on the 24th, being 
given the royal name of Louis. His 
godparents were the Comte de Mar- 
beuf, the governor and commander- 
in-chief of Corsica, and Madame 
Boucheporu, wife of the Royal Com- 
missioner. When Louis was eight 
years of age, three years after the 
death of his father, Madame Bona- 
parte applied for an entrance for the 
boy to one of the Royal Military 
Schools, the same that N. had enjoyed, 
but this was unsuccessful. In 1791, 
when N., then a lieutenant, left 
Corsica to return tO' his regiment at 
Auxonne, he took Louis with him to 
complete his education, and also in the 
event of any advantageous opportunity 
offering itself Louis would be at hand 
to profit thereby. N.'s pay was £^ a 
month, and with his young brother to 
keep he was poorer than ever, but being 
fond and proud of Louis, as shown by a 
letter of his to Joseph Fesch, he never 
grudged the privations it entailed upon 
him. Only once did he refer to it, and 
that was twenty years later, when, 
stung by the flight of the King of 



56 



BONAPARTE 

Holland, his brother Louis, into Ger- 
many, he said to Caulaincourt : 
" What ! abdicate without warning 
me ! Take refuge in Westphalia as if 
from a tyrant ! My brothers injure 
instead of aiding me. This Louis 
whom I brought up on my pay of a 
lieutenant, God knows at the price of 
what privations. I found means to 
pay the schooling of my young 
brother. Do you know how I managed 
it? By never setting my foot in a 
cafd or going into society ; by eating 
dry bread and brushing my clothes 
myself that they might last the longer. 
In order not to disgrace my comrades 
I lived like a bear in a little room, 
with my books for my only friends. 
And those books, in order to procure 
them what strict economy was neces- 
sary ! (N. was then writing bis 
History of Corsica.) When by dint of 
abstinence I had amassed a couple of 
crowns I went to the bookseller's with 
the joy of a child. Tormented with 
the crime of envy, I visited the shelves 
and coveted for a long time before Tny 
purse permitted me to purchase. 
These were the joys and debaucheries 
of my youth ! " When N, in 1795 pro- 
cured for Louis admission to the 
military school of Chalons he wrote of 
him as follows : "I am very pleased 
with Louis ; he fulfils my hopes ; in- 
telligence, warmth, good health, 
talent, good address, kindness — he 
possesses all these qualities." The 
brothers were again together through 
the famous Italian campaign of 1796-7, 
where Louis behaved with courage and 
devotion, but before the peace of 
Campo Formio he was attacked by the 
disease which was to render his life 
miserable and his character morbid. 

On his return to Paris while visiting 
his sister Caroline, at the establish- 
m^ent of Madame Campan (q.v.) he fell 
in love with E.milie de Beauharnais, a 
niece of Josephine. This did not fall 
in with N.'s matrimonial projects for 
Louis, and he promptly married Emilie 
to the Comte de Lavalette (q.v.) and 
took Louis with him to Egypt as one 
of his aides-de-camp in 170^-9. Upon 
his return to France the question of 
Ivouis's marriage to Hortense de Beau- 
harnais (q.v.), Josephine's daughter, 
was mooted. Unfortunately neither 



BONAPARTE 

Louis nor Hortense desired it, by all 
accounts, and the former to escape the 
project travelled for some time in 
Poland, Russia, Sweden and Den- 
mark. The reasons for the marrliage 
lay, according to N.'s account and 
others, with Josephine. Already the 
terror of divorce haunted her, knowing 
well as she did the hatred and designs 
of the Bonapartes, and by this mar- 
riage she had hoped to gain an ally in 
the hostile clan. This would most 
surely have been accomplished if Louis 
had been allowed to marry her niece — 
as it was, his marriage with Hortense, 
which took place on 7 Jan. 1802, trans- 
formed him into the bitterest enemy of 
all, whilst causing unmitigated misery 
to himself and his wife. Some assert 
that he certainly loved Hortense, but 
that it was not returned — hence the 
bitterness. In the Documents his- 
toriques sur la Hollande, by King 
Louis, may be found his version of the 
affair. Other accounts show some of 
the chief contributing causes to the 
misery of the marriage, chief of all the 
outrageous scandal emanating from the 
jealousy of the Bonaparte family, 
especially the venomous Madame 
Murat. They had opposed the mar- 
riage, seeing in it their defeat by the 
Beauharnais, which feeling was inten- 
sified when a son was born, for this 
event affected the succession for 
Joseph, who had only daughters. In 
their chagrin the Bonapartes and 
Madame Murat industriously circulated 
the report that Hortense's child was 
not the son of Louis, but of N. himself 
and with the connivance of Josephine. 
(For the indisputable evidence against 
this see article on Hortense.) Caro- 
line even communicated the scandal to 
Louis, who betrayed no signs of belief 
or disbelief, only so far as causing him 
to be more exacting and unkind to his 
wife. It certainly succeeded, how- 
ever, in making him fall in with 
the Bonapartes against N.'s and 
Josephine's plans for the little 
Napoleon in regard to the succession, 
for when informed of their desig'ns 
Louis utterly refused to give his con- 
sent, alleging as one of his reasons 
that his child would be taken from 
him and brought up at the palace, and 
again the selfish one — that he himself 



57 



BONAPARTE 

would never yield his rig-ht to the suc- 
cession, to his son who would thus 
occupy a superior place to his father. 
Joseph, as the eldest brother, bitterly 
opposed the arrang-ement, making him- 
self absurd over the matter. N. re- 
linquished the plan so far that he 
included Joseph and Louis in the suc- 
cession, but a clause was inserted 
giving him the rig^ht of adoption. This 
he asserted after the coronation, and 
by an additional clause having left out 
Joseph and Louis ag'ain, proposed to 
adopt his nephew. So violent by now 
was the opposition of Louis and the 
family that N. allowed the subject to 
fall into abeyance. The death of the 
child later put an end to the dispute 
and altered the destinies of the Bona- 
partes and indeed of Europe. 

During the years 1802-4 Louis was 
almost entirely with his regfiment as 
its colonel, or seeking- in vain some 
cure for his disease at the mineral 
baths. In 1804 he was made g-eneral 
of division and councillor of state. 
After the victory of Austerlitz (2 Dec. 
1805), a cherished plan of N. began to 
take actual form. This was to sur- 
round the French Empire with a ring- 
of states in close alliance with France. 
Of these states Holland (q.v.) was one, 
and Louis was destined to fill the 
throne. According to his own state- 
ments he only accepted this charge 
with reluctance. After a study of his 
ineffectual character this may be re- 
g-arded as partly true. A tinge of 
morbidity overclouded his faculties ; 
physical disease kept him in a state of 
irritability whilst weakening- his will 
and mentality, therefore he shirked any 
responsibility. Yet when King- of 
Holland by no right but that of being 
N.'s brother, he displayed in a marked 
degree the vainglory and disloyalty 
to N. shown! by all the family. Like 
Joseph and Murat, he conceived the 
Sdea of being a dynastic king and 
acting as one. He moved the capital 
from the Hague to Amsterdam, intro- 
duced the Code Napoleon, thus reform- 
ing Dutch jurisprudence, and patronized 
learning and the arts. This was well 
In its way, but N. wanted other things. 

The friction between Emperor and 
King increased', and N. decided that 
Holland, whichi held a large place 



BONAPARTE 

in his plans, would be better under 
his own immediate rule, for he sus- 
pected Louis of enterling into negoti- 
ations with England, and charged him 
wiith it. Accordingly N. offered Louis 
the throne of Spain. In his r61e of 
dynastic king Louis rejected it indig- 
nantly. A demand for the cession of 
Zeeland and Brabant in return for the 
Hanse towns further nettled him; he 
refused the exchange, and, expecting 
invasion in return for his disobedience^ 
prepared to resist. 

On his return from the Austrian 
campaign, N.'s intention of dethron- 
ing Louis wasi patent to all. He 
invited Louis to Paris, and by the 
advice of his councillors: the King of 
Holland accepted. His case was hope- 
less in the face of the Emperor's state- 
ment in the Moniteur : " Holland is one 
of the princiipal arteries of my empire. 
Changes will be necessary. The safety 
of my frontiers and the interests of the 
two countries imperiously necessitate 
this." Neither in his suit for Holland 
nor in that for a divorce from Hortense 
was Louis successful. Following out 
his design, N. in 1810 annexed the 
island of Walcheren, alleging that not 
only had Louis failed in putting the 
interests of France first but had 
neglected to defend them at the time 
of the British Walcheren expedition 
(1809), while French troops also 
occupied Breda and Bergen-op-Zoom. 
Thus Louis was virtually reduced to 
the position of a French governor. 
He gave way on all points in the 
dispute, but the crisis! was bound to 
come. When in the spring of 1810 
the negotiations with Britain col- 
lapsed, the Emperor again pressed 
Louis hard, and finally at his com- 
mand French troops were sent against 
the Dutch capital. Louis summoned 
his council and advised resistance, but 
his ministers pointed out the hopeless- 
ness of such a course, besides betray- 
ing no enthusiasm in. the support of 
Louis. The latter now meditated his 
revenge, to put N. as much as possible 
in the wrong so that all the world 
might see. On i July 1810 Louis 
abdicated in favour of his son, Napo- 
leon Louis, and fled the country. N.'s 
words on hearing of this have already 
been quoted {see p. 57, col. i). He de- 



58 



BONAPARTE 

clared the act of abdication a nullity, 
and took Louis's son under his own 
charge. On g July 1810 Holland was 
annexed to the French Empire. 

Louis had taken his departure from 
Haarlem in the strictest incognito, and 
for a while his whereabouts was un- 
known to the Eimperor. He finally 
retired to Gratz, taking the title of 
Comte de St. Leu, a small estate he 
owned near Paris. Later, by a decree 
of the French Senate, an appanage of 
2,000,000 francs and an increase of his 
French estates were settled on himself 
and his family, but he considered this 
out of keeping with his dignity as a 
king and refused it. On N.'s reverses 
and after the battle of Leipsic he 
thought of attempting to recover his 
crown and of returning to Holland by 
way of Paris, but he was not allowed 
to enter the city. N. wrote tO' him 
saying that he would rather Holland 
should return toi the government of 
the Prince of Orange than to his. On 
receipt of this Louis made a direct 
appeal to the magistrates of Amster- 
dam, but the Dutch paid no attention 
to his letter and gave the crown to 
the heir of their ancient stadtholders. 
During the Hundred Days Louis held 
aloof, although the other brothers, 
even Lucien, made common cause with 
N., seeing perhaps, though too late, 
that their fate was bound up with 
his. Louis spent the rest of his life 
separated from his wife, but in 181 5 
he secured the custody of his elder son. 
Napoleon Louis, and, henceforth living 
at Rome, devoted his time to his son's 
education and literary and philosophic 
studies. The devotion of both his sons 
to the national cause in Italy pleased 
him greatly, though the death of the 
elder. Napoleon Louis, in the Italian 
insurrection of 1831 proved a severe 
shock. His interest was intense in 
the attempts of his son Charles Louis 
Napoleon (afterwards Napoleon III.) 
to wrest the crown of France from 
Louis Philippe, and the failure of the 
attempts at Strassbourg and Boulogne 
was another bitter disappointment to 
the brooding man. He died on 25 July 
1846, and was buried at St. Leu. He 
wrote several works, but they are 
unimportant. They include a novel, 
Marie, ou les Hollandaises and Docu- 



BONAPARTE 

mens Historiques et Reflexions sur le 
gouvernement de la Hollande. His 
sons were Napoleon Charles (1802-7), 
Napoleon Louis (1804-31), and Charles 
Louis Napoleon (1808-73), afterwards 
Napoleon III. (q.v.), Emperor of the 
French. 

Bonaparte, Louis Lucien (1813- 
91),— Second son of Lucien Bonaparte ; 
was born at Thorngrove, Worcester- 
shire, England, on 4 Jan. 1813. He 
was educated in the country of his 
birth, not entering France until 1848, 
after the revolution. In the November 
of that year he was elected deputy for 
Corsica, but his election was declared 
invalid ; he was afterwards returned as 
deputy for the Seine. He sat on the 
right of the Legislative Assembly, but 
took no active part in affairs in the 
coup d'etat of his cousin (2 Dec. 185 1). 
He was made senator and prince by 
Napoleon III., but in politics he played 
no part. In 1870, after proclamation 
of the Third Republic, he retired to 
England and devoted himself to philo- 
logy and published some works on the 
Basque language : Grammaire basque, 
Remarques sur plusieurs assertions 
concernant la langue basque, (1870), 
and Observations sur la basque Fon- 
tarabie (1878). He died on 3 Nov. 
1891, leaving no children. 

Bonaparte, Lucien (1775-1840).— 
Brother of N. ; was born at Ajaccio on 
21 May 1775. Like his elder brothers, 
Joseph and N., he was sent to the 
college at Autun, proceeding later to 
Brienne to prepare for a military career. 
Partly because of his defective eye- 
sight, but more by reason of his in- 
tense restlessness and love of change, 
he suddenly relinquished all idea of the 
army and decided toi "study the 
humanities " and become a priest. He 
thereupon left Brienne much against 
N.'s advice. One cause of this change 
on Lucien 's part may have been due to 
N.'s elder-brother attitude, which evi- 
dently galled the younger and rather 
conceited boy, who, in his Memoirs, 
frankly states that when he met N. at 
Brienne he at once took a dislike to 
him. Their respective ages at the 
time were : Lucien, nearly ten, and N. 
fifteen. Certain it is that all their 
lives they remained, to a great extent, 
irreconcilable quantities though obey- 



59 



BONAPARTE 

ing" by instinct that intense esprit de 
famille, which the Bonapartes pos- 
sessed in common with all Corsicans. 
Lucien entered the seminary at Aix, 
but to one of his volatile temperament 
the discipline proved intolerable, and, 
his career still unsettled, he returned 
with N. to Corsica in 1790. The 
Revolution and its creeds found in 
Lucien an ardent enthusiast, and with 
Fesch [q.v.) as supporter he became a 
leading light of the radical club at 
Ajaccio. His fiery oratory and en- 
thusiasm inspired even N., perhaps to 
greater lengths than he might other- 
wise have risked, though to Lucien he 
seemed but a lukewarm revolutionary. 

There is a curious letter of Lucien's 
written to Joseph about this time in 
regard to N. The epistle shows the 
writer's wonderful gift of penetration, 
singular in a youth scarcely seventeen : 
■" . . . I have always discerned in 
N. an ambition not entirely egotistical 
but which overcomes his desire for the 
public good ; I am convinced that in a 
free state he would be a dangerous 
man. He seems to me to have a 
strong inclination to be a tyrant, and I 
believe he would be one if he were 
king, and that his name would be for 
posterity, and for the sensitive patriot, 
a name of horror. 

" I see, and not for the first time, 
that in case of a Revolution, N. woiild 
endeavour to ride on the billows, and I 
think that for his personal interest he 
would be capable of becoming a turn- 
coat, etc., etc." Despite a youthful- 
ness of expression this truthfully de- 
picts certain tendencies in N.'s 
character. 

At Ajaccio, Lucien finally broke with 
the Paolists, the conservative and pro- 
British party, and headed that of the 
republican faction, which' favoured 
French rule. It is stated that 
Lucien's prime cause of enmity against 
Paoli was the refusal of the latter to 
nominate him as his private secretary. 
During this p'jriod Hugfuet de S^mon- 
ville, envoy of the French Government, 
visited Corsica. At Ajaccio he made a 
speech in French which Lucien after- 
wards delivered in Italian, rousing the 
audience to great enthusiasm. An in- 
timacy then sprang up between these 
two men, and the friendship thus origi- 



BONAPARTE 

nated lasted for many years. In Feb. 
1793 Semonville was recalled to France, 
and Lucien accompanied him as secre- 
tary. At Toulon he became prominent 
for Ms Jacobinism, and there, at a 
political meeting, delivered a bitter 
speech attacking and calumniating 
Paoli, the great Corsican leader. This 
diatribe was at once sent to their re- 
presentative by the Toulon Jacobins, 
and was read before the Convention on 
2 April 1793, the result being that 
Paoli, now a suspect, was summoned 
to appear before that body in person. 
Meanwhile the Toulon speech and its 
consequences were all unknown to N. 
and the other members of the family, 
who were still resident at Ajaccio, but 
it was precisely this that settled their 
fate. They were compelled to flee 
from Corsica before the wrath of the 
Paolists, and joined Lucien at Toulon, 
where he now held a post lin the com- 
missary department. After the fall of 
Toulon in 1794 he went to St. Maxi- 
min, a small town between Toulon and 
Antibes, as keeper of the commissary 
stores. Here again he became a 
prominent Jacobin, styling himself 
Lucius Brutusi and known as " the 
little Robespierre." He also prevailed 
upon the inhabitants of the place to 
change the name of St. Maximin to 
"Marathon." While lodging at the 
inn there he fell in love with Mile. 
Christine Boyer {q.v.), the beautiful 
daughter of his host, and married her 
the same year (May 1794), althougih 
he had not attained the legal age, 
being only nineteen, which diffioulty, 
however, was overcome by the appro- 
priation of N.'s birth certificate. This 
step not unnaturally incurred the dis- 
pleasure of his family, and after the 
coup d'itat of Thermidor (28 July 
1794) he was unfortunately over- 
whelmed in the general ruin of the 
Jacobins and had to fly from St. 
Maximin, " Brutus " by now being 
unpopular. At St. Chamans, near 
Cette, he again secured a post in 
connexion with supplies for the army 
of Italy, but was recognized by a 
man belonging to St. Maximin whose 
family Lucien had caused to be im- 
prisoned. This enemy now denounced 
him as a fugitive Jacobin and Robe- 
spierrist, and he was consequently 



60 



BONAPARTE 

thrown into the prison at Aix-en- 
Provence. Frantic and helpless, he 
wrote imploring- letters to N. and the 
other Bonapartes. On N, 's elevation 
to the command of the army of the 
interior Lucien was released, after six- 
teen days incarceration. The same in- 
fluence also procured for him a post 
as commissioner in the French Army 
acting- in Germany. According to some 
statements, he threw this up because 
his love of political intrigue found no 
outlet; other versions maintaining 
that he was relieved of it by N., who, 
however, offered him later a similar 
post in the Egyptian expedition. This 
Lucien refused. The fact remains that 
he next proceeded to Corsica, where 
he at once entered the political arena, 
and in 1798 was elected a member of 
the Council of Five Hundred for his 
native department Liamone. At Paris 
in July he took his seat, and his elo- 
quence gained him a prominent place 
in the Council. He interested himself 
lin international politics, the quarrels 
in Italy being- fomented by him. 
Socially Lucien was a success, his love 
of letters attracting many to his home, 
which became a centre of influence. 
This, tog-ether v^ith Ms acumen and 
skill in intrigue, made him a powder 
to be reckoned with. When General 
Jourdan asked for the Council's votes 
in support of his motion (Sept. 1799) 
"that the country be declared in 
danger," it was Lucien wiho led the 
opposition and won. The crisis, he 
declared, could only be surmounted by 
giiving greater power to the executive 
authority, combating-, however, any 
suggestion of a dictatorship. Yet 
though displaying great republican 
zeal, he thwarted the now reviving 
influence of the democrats. 

Notwithstanding- the interruption of 
communications between Toulon and 
Alexandria, Lucien found means of 
keeping N., while in Egypt, well 
informed as to the condition] of aiifairs 
in Paris ; the unsatisfactory state of 
the parties, and the disasters on the 
frontiers. These letters, it is believed, 
were carried by a Greek named Bam- 
buki. There is no doubt that Lucien 's 
measures were well-planned, though 
the results were not quite those he had 
desired. Already he was President of 



BONAPARTE 

the Council (Oct. 1799), a position that 
gave him an added advantage in the 
carrying- out of his plans. On N.'s 
return to France Lucien conducted all 
the private negotiations with possible 
supporters, presiding at the secret 
meetings. On that memorable day of 
Brumaire (9 Nov, 1799), when the 
legislative body held an extraordinary 
sitting at St. Cloud, Lucien exerted 
every effort to stay the opposition 
against his brother. When the out- 
lawry of N. was demanded he cried : 
"Can you ask me to put the outlawry 
of my own brother to the vote?" 
Finding this appeal of no weight with 
the assembly, he threw his insignia of 
office on the desk before him with a 
dramatic gesture, saying : " Let me be 
rather heard as the advocate of him 
whom you falsely and rashly accuse." 
At that moment a small party of 
guards, sent by N. to his. assistance, 
marched into the hall and carried him 
out. Lucien then mounted a horse and 
called out in his sonorous voice : 
"General Bonaparte, and you, 
soldiers ! the President of the Council 
of Five Hundred announces to you 
that factious men with daggers [les 
representants du poignard) have inter- 
rupted the deliberations of the 
assembly. He authorizes you to use 
force against these disturbers. The 
Assembly of the Five Hundred is dis- 
solved." Bourrienne, who was pre- 
sent, relates in his Memoirs that 
Lucien, perceiving a slight hesitation 
on the part of the troops, drew his 
sword with the words : " I swear to 
plunge this sword in the bosom of my 
own brother if he should ever aim a 
blow at the liberties of France." Thus 
Lucien the citizen succeeded where N.. 
the soldier had, been nonplussed. The 
success of this memorable day in no 
inconsiderable degree may be attri- 
buted to Lucien, but, strangely 
enough, it proved a shrewd blow to 
that democratic cause he had so 
ardently supported. It also sowed the 
seeds of distrust between the brothers, 
though, as previously stated, Lucien 
had already professed to see in N. 
signs of an overpowering ambition. 
Having now helped him to triumph 
over the parliamentary institutions of 
France, the old suspicion revived, and 



61 



BONAPARTE 

during- the period of the Consulate 
( 1 799-1 804) the relations between them 
were strained to the utmost. The port- 
folio of the Minister of the Interior had 
been the reward of Ludien's services, 
but though he carried out his duties 
with marked ability, he did not long- 
retain the post owing to his differences 
with N. According to some, Fouoh6 
-among others, Lucien equalled N. in 
ambition and love of power, and in 
this lay the root of disag-reement. 
Foudhe asserts that Lucien cherished 
a design^ of urging ihis brother to 
establish a species of consular Duum- 
virate, by means of which he hoped to 
retain in his own bands all the civil 
power, thus dividing- authority with 
N., who never dreamed of any such 
participation. In short, Lucien wished 
to govern the state, leaving to N. 
notfhing but the management of the 
army. Needless to say, this design 
never succeeded, though Lucien tried 
several times to influence his brother 
towards other plans of his contriving. 
According to some authors, Lucien was 
relieved of his portfolio for having 
written a pamphlet entitled Parallel 
hetween Ccesar, Cromwell, Monk and 
Bonaparte, in which military govern- 
ment was bitterly assailed. Others 
state that Fontanes was the author, 
Lucien merely conniving at its circu- 
lation. Either way, it infuriated the 
First Consul, who discerned in the 
pamphlet, truly enough, Lucien's 
ideas. 

At this point the quarrel became so 
acute that it was necessary to separate 
the brothers without further scandal. 
This task was undertaken by Talley- 
rand, and outwardly peace w^as made. 
N. now appointed Lucien ambassador 
to Madrid. This mission at the time 
was regarded as little better than a 
brilliant disgrace. Financially it 
proved a source of wealth to him, but 
politically he again displeased the First 
Consul. Portugal, with its handsome 
bribes to Godoy, the Spanish minister, 
and Lucien, the French ambassador, 
and their consequent signing of the 
preliminaries of peace at Badajos 
(6 June 1801), succeeded in frustrating 
the designs of N. against her. The 
First Consul was enraged, and remon- 
strated angrily with his brother, who 



BONAPARTE 

thereupon resigned and returned to 
France. 

In March 1802 Lucien was appointed 
a member of the Tribunate, and took 
an active part in the Concordat and 
the institution of the Legion of 
Honour. In connexion with the latter, 
he was one of the seven members of 
the grand council for its administra- 
tion. As a m:ember of the Tribunate 
he opposed many of N.'s schemes, 
such as an hereditary consulate, and 
this again revived the old bitterness, 
whilst he absolutely refused to acqui- 
esce with the First Consul's matri- 
monial arrang^ements for (himself. 
Lucien was now a widower, his wife 
ihavingf died in 1800, and N. desired 
him to marry the widow of the King 
of Etruria. Lucien meanwhile had met 
in the spring- of 1802 a Mme. Jouber- 
thon {q.v.), of whom he had become 
deeply enamoured and made 'his mis- 
tress, promising her marriage in the 
event of the birth of a male child. A 
son was born, and Lucien, despite N.'s 
prohibition, secretly married Mme. 
Jouberthon on 23 Oct. 1803 at his resi- 
dence of Plessis. This incensed the 
First Consul to such a degree that 
Lucien deemed it wiser to quit France 
with ihis wife and infant son. He also 
formed a kind of league in the family 
ag-ainst N., encouraging Jerome in his 
short resistance to the First Consul's 
wishes! and inducing Joseph to refuse 
the viceroy alty of Italy. 

Lucien proceeded to Italy, residing 
chiefly at Rome, where he was re- 
ceived with marked kindness and 
attention by the Pope. But ihis hostility 
to N. suffered no abatement. In 1807 
Joseph arranged a meetingf between 
the two brothers at Mantua. N. made 
Lucien several brilliant offers — ^the 
throne of Portugal, or, better, a new 
kingdom in Italy and the Duchy of 
Parma as solace for Mme. Lucien — 
but all on the terms of Lucien's repudi- 
ation of his wife. This ihe absolutely 
refused to do. The interview was 
stormy, but some kind of reconcilia- 
tion was patched up, Lucien at last 
consenting to give N. his eldest 
daughter for the furtherance of N.'s 
dynastic designs. This arrangement 
fell through owing to the rebellious 
conduct of Charlotte, at one time 



62 



BONAPARTE 

designed for the Prince of the 
Asturias. She was sent back to her 
home, where she was gladly received, 
for Lucien was a devoted father. 

He had now retired to an estate at 
Canino, some little distance from the 
capital! and from which he derived his 
papal title of Prince of Canino. Here 
he devoted himself to literature, 
archaeolog'ical research and agricul- 
ture. In May 1809, when the Em- 
peror issued his decree incorporating- 
Rome with the French Empire, Lucien 
considering himself no longer safe, 
embarked with his fajnily for the 
United States, but was captured by a 
British ship, taken to Malta, thence to 
England, where he resided quite re- 
signedly at an estate called Thorn- 
grove, in Worcestershire, which he 
had purchased. He was permitted to 
live in freedom upon ihis parole, one 
officer only having the superintendence 
of Ji'is movements and correspondence. 
The peace of 181 4 restored him to 
liberty. 

Lucien was profoundly affected by 
hisi famous brother's fall, and a com- 
plete reconciliation was arranged 
between them. He tendered his for- 
tune and services to N., and was with 
him during the Hundred Days (1815). 
He stood with the Emperor at the 
"Champ de Mai," and, strangely 
enough, was the last to defend his 
prerogatives at the time of the second 
abdication. When N., apparently 
paralysed by the unexpected reverses 
at Waterloo, betrayed symptoms of 
irresolution, Lucien did all possible to 
reanimate his spirits. "You give up 
the game," he said, "without having 
lost St. The death of thirty thousand 
men cannot decide the fate of France." 
Finding his brother still undetermined, 
he remarked to his secretary that "the 
smoke of Mont St. Jean had turned 
his brain." Whilst N, was at St. 
Helena, Lucien applied to the British 
Government for permission to reside 
there with his brother, defraying his 
own expenses and submitting to every 
restriction imposed on the Emperor. 
This was refused, and he spent the 
rest of his life in Italy, dying there on 
29 June 1840. 

In many ways Lucien was the 
ablest of the brothers of N., his 



BONAPARTE 

courage equalling that of the latter. 
The fiery enthusiasm of his youth was 
mellowed by years, and he became a 
steadfast and kindly character, though 
he never lost the gift of pungent and 
bitter satire. Literature had always 
attracted him — to be a poet and live 
by his work was one of his ambitions, 
unfulfilled, however. He wrote an 
epic, Charlemagne, ou I'Eglise delivree 
(2 vols. 1814), which had no success 
and is now forgotten, and also La 
verite sur les cents jours and Memoirs, 
which he left unfinished. 

Five sons and six daughters com- 
prised his family. By his first mar- 
riage he had two daughters, Charlotte 
and Christine Egypta. The former 
married Prince Mario Gabrielli ; the 
latter, firstly. Count Avred Posse, a 
Swede, whom she divorced on dis- 
covering in him signs of lunacy, and, 
secondly. Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart. 
By his second marriage he had the 
following : Prince Charles Lucien 
(q.v.), who succeeded his father, and 
married his cousin Z^naide, the 
eldest daugihter of Joseph; Laetitia, 
who married Sir Thomas Wyse of 
Waterford ; Paul, who was killed by 
an accident on Lord Cochrane 's battle- 
ship; Jeanne, who married the Marquis 
Honorati ; Louis Lucien {q.v.)^ born at 
Thorngrove in 1813 ; Pierre (q.v.), 
born at Rome in 1815 ; Antoine, 1816; 
Marie, who married Viscount Valen- 
tini ; and Constance, who took the vdil 
at an early age. 

Bonaparte, Maria Anna Elisa 
(1777-1820).— The eldest of N.'s three 
sisters ; was born at Ajaccio on 3 Jan. 
1777. By the influence of the Cotmte 
de Marbeuf (q.v.) a nomination to St. 
Cyr as a royal pupil was obtained for 
her. To gain this concessio'n of free 
education reserved for the children of 
impoverished aristocrats it had, of 
course, been necessary for Carlo 
Buonaparte (q.v.) to obtain certificates 
attesting the poverty whidh prevented 
him giving his daughter an education 
suitable to her birth, and also docu- 
ments showing the possession by the 
father's family of two hundred years 
of nobility. The benefits to be derived 
were substantial. The pupils might 
enter the seminary at seven years of 
age and not leave until they were 



63 



I 



BONAPARTE 

twenty, whilst besides free clothing, 
food and education, they eaoh received 
on leaving a dowry of 3,000 francs and 
a trousseau. 

Whilst Elisa was at this institution 
she received visits from her brother 
N., accompanied by his friend, Fauve- 
let de Bourrienne {q.v.), also from 
Mme. Permon (q.v.) and her brother 
the Abb^ Demetrius de Courriene. In 
her fifteenth year, however, Elisa was 
forced to leave, for on 16 Aug. 1792 
St. Cyr was suppressed by a decree 
of the National Convention. The bene- 
ficiaries were to be dismissed, though 
with the customary goods and linen, 
also mileage at the rate of one franc 
a mile, which made Elisa' s share 
352 francs, her journey being from 
Versailles to Ajacdio. In Sept. N. 
made applications for permission to 
remove his sister from the institution, 
for, now a captain and having obtained 
leave to return to Corsica, he wished 
to take her with him. On i Sept. 
they both appeared before the muni- 
cipality of St. Cyr and made the re- 
quisite declarations. The formal per- 
mission was given, but, unable to start 
on their homeward journey at once, N. 
took his sister to the Hotel des 
Patriotes Hollandais, where he was 
staying. From 2 Sept. to the 7th the 
terrible massacres in the prisons were 
perpetrated, and all exit from the city 
was barred, but on the 9th of the 
month they obtained their passports 
and left Paris for Ajaccio. Stormy 
weather kept the brother and sister 
prisoners at Marseilles for a day or 
two. At the hotel the feather in 
Elisa's hat appealed to the people as 
of a pronounced aristocratic flavour, 
and cries of " Death to the aristocrats " 
were raised. N. seized the suspected 
hat from his s^Ister's head and flung it 
to the crowd, shouting back: "No 
more aristocrats than yourselves ! " a 
proceeding that elicited great applause. 

The year of Elisa's return to Ajaccio 
saw some probability of a marriage 
being arranged between her and 
Admiral Truguet, then in command of 
the Mediterranean squadron, but from 
some cause the plan fell through. 
Forced to flee from Corsica by politi- 
cal developments, the Bonapartes 
finally settled at Marseilles, where, 



BONAPARTE 

after the first imonths of privation were 
past, their home became a centre of 
local sodiety and a rendezvous for Cor- 
sican visitors, for by now N. was 
General Bonaparte and the family 
consequently of increased importance. 
It was often said that Elisa resembled 
N. in character — in decision, arro^ 
gance, wilfulness — ^but at some points 
the resemblance ceased. Elisa was 
cross-grained, positively disagreeable, 
if the testimony of the Duchesse 
d'Abrantes is to be believed. 

On I May 1797 Elisa married Pas- 
quale Bacdiochi, a retired officer and 
member of a noble Corsican faanily. 
This marriage was opposed by Lucien, 
and is said to have also displeased N., 
though his advice had not been asked. 
Apart from political reasons — the 
Bacciochis were royalists, and a 
member of the family had served with 
the drhigres and the English at Toulon 
— there was no great monetary gain 
by the alliance, though as his own for- 
tunes improved N. certainly did not 
forget his sister and her insignificant 
husband. 

In 1797, when Josephine joined N. 
at the Chateau de Montebello, the 
whole Bonaparte faimily, including 
Elisa's husband and the wives of 
Joseph and Lucien were also there at 
his invitation. Lucien says in his 
Memoirs, " Mme. Bacciochi was deter- 
mined to be rid of her husband." This 
is in reference to the fact that when 
he himself was sent on a mission to 
Spain Elisa determined that her hus- 
band should accompany him, whilst 
she returned with her mother to Mar- 
seilles and later proceeded to Ajaccio. 
But already her ambition was at work, 
she dreamed of a career resplendent 
with the glory won by her famous 
brother. The beginning came when 
Lucien, now a member of the Five 
Hundred and resident in Paris, in- 
vited his mother and Elisa to take up 
their residence with him. With his 
literary tastes he had already gathered 
about him men of note, and Elisa, 
taking his cue, endeavoured to pose 
as a patroness of art and letters. 
Chateauibriand, Fontanes, La Harpe, 
Boufflers, Arnault, Esm^nard and 
Andrieux were frequenters of her 
salon, but her favourite was Fontanes. 



64 



BONAPARTE 



BONAPARTE 



On his behalf she used her influence 
with N., and he was appointed presi- 
dent of the Corps Leg-islatif , a proceed- 
ing that struck many at the time as 
strange. Under his influence her pos- 
turings as an authoress became in- 
creasingly ludicrous. She wrote a 
sufficiently worthless novel, and forth- 
with conceived the idea of a literary 
club for women only, but women of 
intellect. Many were the demands for 
admission, and an impressive opening 
ceremony was arranged, with Mme. 
Bacciochi as president. A commentary 
on these proceedings may be found 
in the Memoirs of the Duchesse 
d'Abrantes. Her reign in Paris, how- 
ever, was disfigured by incidents which 
reflected on her name and fame — her 
intimacy with Fontanes and others, 
together with the convenient dis- 
appearance of her husband to join a 
dragoon regiment as its colonel. 
Meanwhile she irritated N. with her 
literary pretensions and didactic mono- 
logues intended for conversation — 
furthermore, she disgusted him by her 
appearance in the part of Alzire in 
flesh-coloured tights at Luclien's 
theatre at Neuilly. A well-merited 
rebuke was her reward. One amliable 
tra]t in her character, however, was 
discovered in her efforts to save many 
of the condemned royalists in the plots 
of 1804 by personal appeal to the Em- 
peror, though this was largely done 
iin jealous emulation of Joisephine, 
whose wholehearted efforts of mercy 
were well known. Against Josephine, 
Elisa, together with her sisters, waged 
incessant war; their jealousy of her 
was unbounded, and to their influence 
may be traced the bitter feud between 
the Bonaparte and Beauharnais 
families, which did so much to wreck 
the fortunes of their brother and bene- 
factor. 

From the time of the proclamation 
of the Empire, the sisters of N. never 
ceased importuning him for titles and 
crowns. One of his replies toi their 
requests is famous : " Truly, Mes- 
dames, considering your pretensions, 
one might suppose we inherited the 
crown from the late king, our father." 
But with his great family affection and 
his unfailing generosity, he gave them 
their desires. Elisa was thus honoured 



first. On 18 March 1805 he announced 
to the Senate that he had given the 
state of Piombino to the Princess 
Elisa, who henceforth would be recog- 
nised as the Hereditary Princess of 
Piombino', though ruling as a feuda- 
tory of France. Hence, though her 
children were to succeed their mother, 
their investiture would be received 
from the Emperor, neither might they 
marry without his consent. M. 

Bacciochi was allowed to assume the 
title of Prince of Piombino, with addi- 
tional duties as outlined in the oath 
he was required to take. On the dis- 
solution of the republic of Lucca, this 
was further added to Elisa's states. 
She now, in her administrative powers, 
began to display an energy, skill and 
grasp of affairs which, though con- 
fessedly modelled on her famous 
brother's methods, yet showed many 
of her own gifts of mind. The depart- 
ment for foreign affairs she conducted 
herself, corresponding directly with 
the French minister, not always agree- 
ing with him, which sometimes obliged 
her brother to interfere. The adminis- 
tration she reformed most thoroughly ; 
extensive public works were in- 
augurated, agriculture was en- 
couraged, art and letters patronized. 
The deserted wastes of Piombinoi were 
colonized, itsi marshes drained, whilst 
the brigands infesting the high roads 
were brought to book. In all this she 
was admirable, but in other ways she 
was ludicrous or scandalous. Her hus- 
band, for instance, was allowed to take 
little or no share in the government ; 
at all public ceremonies he walked 
behind her, and at reviews of the 
troops he lowered his sword in salute 
as she passed. Military pomp and 
parade became a mania with her ; she 
imitated N.'s deportment and 
manners to an amusing degree ; in 
short, it was this mania for an army 
and its attendant conscription that ren- 
dered her so highly unpopular in a 
country where agriculture and com- 
merce had been the leading features. 
She had organized her court, regulat- 
ing such matters as etiquette and pre- 
cedence to a nicety. But her former 
habits of gallantry now found freer 
play ; many admirers thronged her 
court, and, like a king with his mis- 



65 



BONAPARTE 



BONAPARTE 



tresses, she had her various lovers. 
She was frankly a cynic, for in the 
Memoir es d'une contemporaine may be 
found her creed in the lines written to 
a friend: "Live for yourself, follow 
your tastes and hide them, and do not 
invite the public to share your confi- 
dences!." It was Talleyrand who 
aptly called her "the Semiramis of 
Lucca." 

In 1809 Tuscany wasi added to her 
spoilsi — she was created Grand Duchess 
and Governor General of Tuscany. 
Here again her administration intro- 
duced many improvements, whilst her 
court was enlargfed and conducted 00 
a grander scale. Elisa's ambition now 
assumed greater sway over her. 
Though always on the surface suffi- 
ciently obedient to N.'s wishes, as, 
for instance, in his policy as regarded 
Pope Pius VII., yet she began to plan 
for herself — ^the making of powerful 
friends, the possible acquisition of 
further territory, such as Corsica. N. 
as her benefactor and her brother was 
gradually forgotten. She was essen- 
tially hard and selfish — her own in- 
terests always first. When the Empire 
was in its throes only her own peril 
and losses concerned her. Seeing the 
storm coming, she plotted with the 
smooth Fouohe, listening toi all his 
treacherous words against N. Fouch6 
was also in touch with Murat, was 
indeed the centre of all the festering 
treachery which was gradually draw- 
ing closer about its victim. But 
though Elisa and Murat were friends 
in intrigue, that did not prevent the 
latter, in his dreams of an Italian 
kingdom;, sending troops intO' Tuscany 
under the command of General Minu- 
tolo to seize the states, even naming 
one of his officers. General Joseph 
Lecchi, as governor. Unable tO' resist, 
she at last determined tO' retire to 
Lucca, and therefore issued directions 
t^ her husband, who was commander- 
in-chief of the troops, tO' evacuate Tus- 
cany. Neither aristocrat nor peasant 
displayed any loyalty towards their 
French rulers ; indeed, they pursued 
them with a hail of sarcasm and irony. 
Bacciochi having, at Elisa's command, 
changed his name of Pasiquale — ridi- 
culous by its associations in Italy — to 
Felix (the happy), the street popula- 



tion called after him in farewell : 
"When he was Felix we were un- 
happy, now he again comes Pasquale 
we shall be happy." Foucihe, an 
amused spectator, describes it cynically 
as having been effected without loss 
of blood : on one side it was nothing 
but a flight, on the other a volley of 
sarcasm. Fouche was, however, at 
Lucca with Elisa, where he still in- 
trigued with Murat, the result of which 
was a treaty — the French troops were 
to fall back on Genoa, evacuating Tus- 
cany, and gradually retiring to France. 
Murat, now an ally of Great Britain 
and backed by English troops, could 
not be gainsaid, and Elisa, though on 
the eve of confinement, had, perforce, 
tO' flee. A son was born to her at a 
wretched wayside inn, but finally she 
reached Bologna, only to be arrested 
by the Austrians. 

Rome and Naples were denied to 
her as future homes, though she 
applied to Marie Louise and the Aus- 
trian Emperor. She was confined at 
Briinn a close prisoner, but in Sept. 
1 81 4 was allowed to proceed to 
Bologna, where she lived, separated 
from her husband, under the title of 
Comtesse de Campignano'. It was 
from here she wrote to N. at St. ■ 
Helena, offering to come and join Mm 
there if permission might be obtained 
— a. letter very likely written in late 
repentance. She wandered now from 
place to place, living for a while with 
her sister Caroline, and at last settled 
at the Villa Vincentini, near Trieste, 
where she died of a nervous fever on 
7 Aug. 1820. Her brother Jerome and 
sister Caroline attended her to the last 
with exemplary devotion. N., on hear- 
ing of her death, was greatly affected ; 
he remarked that he had imagined 
Death to have forgotten the family, 
"but now he beg^ins to strike it. 
Elisa has shown us the way. I shall 
be the next to follow her to the grave." 
Four children had been born to Elisa : 
a son, Napoleon, in June 1798, who 
died the following year; a daughter, 
Napoleone Elisa, in June 1806, who in 
1825 married Count Camerata, and left 
a son who committed suicide in 1853 ; 
a son, Jerome Charles, in 1810, who 
died the following year; and a son, 
Frederic, in 1814, who died in 1834. 



66 



BONAPARTE 

Bonaparte, Maria Annunziata 

(Caroline)(1782-1839).— The youngest 
of N.'s sisters; was born on 25 March 
1782, and in 1800 became the wife 
of Joachim Murat (q.v.). She was 
the cleverest and most ambitious of 
the Bonaparte sisters, but also the 
one whose name is most blackened by 
intrigue for power against the brother 
who was her benefactor. 

While she was still a child N. had 
attained fame and fortune, so that the 
circumstances of her youth were supe- 
rior to those of her sisters. It was N. 
who gave her the name of Caroline, it 
is thought in memory of his first love, 
Caroline Colombier. She was placed 
by N.'s wish at Mme. Campan's 
that sihe might become as gifted and 
graceful as Hortense Beauharnais. 
Her brother's praise of Josephine's 
daughter roused all the venom of Caro- 
line's nature, and ever after she re- 
garded both mother and daughter 
with intense dislike, and stooped to all 
kinds of infamy to bring about their 
banishment from' N.'s home and life. 
Lannes, Moreau and Augereau were 
mentioned as possible husbands for 
Caroline, but in 1800 she was married 
to Murat at the palace of the Luxem- 
bourg, and henceforth she devoted all 
her energies toi further her ever-in- 
creasling ambition. 

Shortly after the marriage Murat 
left with Bonaparte for the Marengo 
campaign, and though he returned to 
Paris with the First Consul, was soon 
appointed to take command of the 
army of observation which had been 
left in Italy. During her husband's 
absence Caroline, enceinte with her 
first child, experienced the trying 
ordeal of the 3rd Nivose, when an in- 
fernal machine, intended for N., ex- 
ploded near her carriage. She dis- 
played remarkable coolness, but her 
son, born! a little later, was subject to 
epileptic fits, due, it was said, to the 
shock to the mother. This was in 
1 80 1. In 1802 Caroline went to jdin 
her husband in Milan, but in 1803 
Murat was made military governor of 
Paris, a post she had long coveted for 
him, for now she would be first in 
precedence after Josephine, whom she 
so cordially hated. From this date 
she began to make friends of all she 



BONAPARTE 

thought likely to be of use to her, and 
openly showed hostility to the Beau- 
harnais. When N. became Emperor, 
she evinced an intense anxiety to 
possess a throne. She plied Talley- 
rand and Fouche with questions as 
to her brother's plans for his family. 
Murat was made a marshal of France, 
but the dignity of a marechale was 
beneath Caroline's contempt. With 
Josephine now Empress and Hortense 
a princess, her jealousy knew no 
bounds, and at an Imperial dinner she 
created a disgraceful scene. The next 
day she renewed her tears and re- 
proaches, and eventually she and her 
sisters also became princesses. To 
further her cause with the Emperor, 
nay, more, to estrange him from 
Josephine, Caroline arranged amours 
for N. with shameless eagerness. 
Mme. Duchatel and Eleonore Revel 
were two of her protegees in this in- 
famous plan. The reward was forth- 
coming in the Grand Duchy of Berg 
and Cleves; but this was less than 
either Murat or Caroline had expected 
or desired, though both immediately 
began to put on regal airs and deny 
N.'s r'ight to demand aught of them. 
When the Emperor departed for the 
Jena campaign lit may be said the 
Grand Duchess of Berg reigned in 
Paris. She plotted to her heart's con- 
tent while she led the round of society 
and its pleasures. She began to dream 
of the throne of France, for the possi- 
bility of the Emperor's death had 
occurred tO' her — and might not she 
and Murat step into his shoes ! Junot 
was military governor of Paris, and 
in this capacity was occupying a posi- 
tion of the greatest importance. To 
make him her tool she became his mis- 
tress. But N. returned, and hearing 
of the liaison he relieved Junot of his 
post, while he allowed Caroline to 
escape. 

In 1808 Murat was sent to Spain, 
and again both dreamed of a throne. 
But Spain was for Joseph, and to 
Caroline's chagrin Naples was offered 
to them. She found "the crown of 
Naples too small for her head." Still, 
she was now a queen, and seizing on 
all the treasures of the Elys^e, as 5f 
personal property, she set out for her 
kingdom. Murat had been cordially 



67 



BONAPARTE 



BONAPARTE 



welcomed by the fickle populace, and 
Queen Caroline was equally well re- 
ceived. A struggle now began between 
herself and her husiband for the first 
place in the state and government. 
Her reasoning was that Murat was 
only king by virtue of being her hus- 
band, therefore the first place was un- 
deniably hers. Besides, her husband's 
intellectual inferiority had been an 
ever-present thorn in her flesh, and 
certainly her firmness of purpose in 
matters of government was in striking 
contrast to the vacillations of the brave 
but weak-willed iMurat. Twoi parties 
were formed, the King's and the 
Queen's, and Caroline intrigued 
against Murat lin her thirst for power 
and domination. 

When after the Austrian campaign 
N. decided on divorce, he summoned 
Caroline to Paris. So overjoyed was 
she that at last Josephine was to be 
discarded that a blizzard did not deter 
her journey across the Alps. N, had 
S. high opinion of Caroline's gifts, and 
deputed her to receive Marie Louise 
on her journey to France at Brannau 
on the Austriian frontier. Immediately 
she conceived the idea of ruling the 
future Empress, but by her arbitrary 
behaviour only succeeded in creating 
an extreme aversion on the part of 
Marie Louise. Further, she, with her 
sisters, objected to the task of holding 
the bride's train at the Imperial wed- 
ding, and was only restrained from 
revolt by the wisdom of Mme, M^re. 

On her return toi Naples she re- 
sumed the struggle with Murat for the 
upper hand, and dlid not scruple to 
show her contempt for his weakness 
of will and character, while she en- 
couraged lovers quite openly. Murat 
in his chagrin became ill, for N., ever 
mindful of his sister's admlinistratiive 
powers, which to some extent she cer- 
tainly possessed, gave his consent to 
her proposals, but vetoed those of her 
'husband. The intrigues with Austrlia 
had now begun largely at Caroline's 
instigation, and though before the 
Russian campaign of 1812 the 
brothers-in-law were again reconciled, 
both Murat and his wife were playing 
a double game in order to preserve 
their throne, regardless of what might 
happen to N. 



With her husband away with the 
grand army, Caroline was Queen and 
ab'Solute ruler at last. She granted 
and refused pardons, made appoint- 
ments, signed decrees, and presided 
over cabinet councils. Stories of her 
independent actions had already 
decided Murat to return, when he re- 
ceived a letter froim her telling of the 
English fleet off the coast and conse- 
quent fear of invasion. Though left 
in command by N,, Murat left for 
his kingdom, turning over his duties 
to Eugene Beauharnalis, a proceeding 
which again roused N.'s furious anger. 
But this passed unheeded, for Caro- 
line and her husband were now steeped 
in intrigue with both England and 
Austria. It is stated that the Queen 
had opened negotiations With the 
avowed intention of evicting her hus- 
band from the throne and seizing the 
crown, but the powers would only treat 
with Murat. When the treaty with 
Austria was at last signed, it was he 
who showed signs of remorse at his 
treachery, for Caroline was triumphant 
and scornful at her brother's expense. 
N. knew well that it was his sister 
vi^o had betrayed him ; Murat he stig- 
matized as a fool everywhere but on 
the battlefield. Mme. M6re never for- 
gave either for their baseness, and 
poured unlimited scorn and contempt 
on their heads. 

Despite their treachery, however, 
Caroline soon saw that nothing could 
be hoped from the Congress of Vienna, 
though Talleyrand and Metternich^ 
both friends of hers, were the dominat- 
ing personalities. It was Talleyrand 
who had said of her that "she had 
Cromwell's head on the shoulders of a 
pretty woman." Therefore Murat 
entered into communication with the 
Emperor, and after the latter's return 
from Elba hoped to conquer the whole 
of Italy under N.'s victorious progress 
in the north. This was strongly urged 
by Caroline, but Murat by his pre- 
cipitancy spoilt all — his own as well as 
the Emperor's chances of success. 
After Murat 's defeat and withdrawal 
the city of Naples was in a parlous 
condition, threatened not only by the 
Austrians, but with anarchy, pillage 
and massacre. Nothing daunted, 
Caroline adopted prompt measures. 



68 



BONAPARTE 

She assembled the national g^uards and 
addressed them in a fiery speech. For 
nearly the whole day she was on horse- 
back, visiting- every post and remain- 
ing- to the last, but her energy was 
wasted, for she and her family were at 
leng-th compelled to flee. She was 
delivered up to the Austrian authori- 
ties and confined in the castle of Raim- 
bourg-, where in Oct. she heard of her 
husband's tragic end at Pizzo. She 
was eventually allowed to settle at 
Trieste, and there she married General 
Macdonald. She herself had taken 
the title of Countess of Lipona, an 
anagram of Napoli. After represen- 
tations to the powers as to her legal 
and financial claims, France awarded 
her an annual pension of 100,000 
francs. Later she was permitted to 
return to France, and on her visit to 
Paris all that was remembered was 
that she was the sister of the great 
Emperor. As such she received a 
warm and enthusiastic welcome. On 
her return to Italy she settled at 
Florence, where she died on 18 May 
1839. When she was dying, M. 
Clavel, whoi was her lover at that time, 
endeavoured to make her sign a will 
declaring" him residuary leg-atee, but 
the children of Murat arrived oppor- 
tunely to his discomfiture. Clavel 
afterwards sold the letters she had 
written to him to her heirs for 60,000 
francs. Caroline, like her father and 
her brothers, N. and Lucien, died of 
cancer of the stomach. The children 
born of her marriage with Murat were 
Napoleon Achille Charles Louis (q.v.) 
21 Jan. 1801-47; Letizia Joseph, born 
5n 1802, married to the Marquis 
Popoli ; Napoleon Lucien Charles {q.v.), 
1803-78 ; and Louise Julie Caroline, 
born 1805, married Count Rasponi. 

Bonaparte, Maria Letizia. — 
See Buonaparte, Maria Letizia. 

Bonaparte, Marie Alexandrine 

Oiiarlotte Louise Laurent N6e de 

Bleschamps, the second wife of Lucien 
Bonaparte; was born in 1778, the 
daughter of a naval comimissioner whoi 
narrowly escaped the guillotine during 
the Terror. On the mother's side she 
was related to the families of Mont- 
morency and Lamartine. A son of the 
family served with Poniatowski as his 
aide-de-camp, and met the same fate 



BOIVAPARTE 

as his chief, being drowned in the 
Elster after the battle of Leipsic. 

Marie de Bleschamps was first 
married to M. Jouberthon, a Paris 
stockbroker. She bore her husband 
two children, a son who died in infancy 
and a daug-hter who was married twice 
— 'first to Prince Hercolani, secondly to 
Prince Jablonowski, a Polish officer in 
the Austrian Army. 

The marriage with M. Jouberthon 
was unhappy, and resulted in the wife 
being divorced. M. Jouberthon then 
went to the West Indies with the 
French expedition under General 
Leclerc, and, like him, succumbed to 
the yellow fever. It was under the 
name of Mme. Jouberthon that this 
beautiful woman first met Lucien 
Bonaparte, just then returned from 
Spain. He at once fell in love with 
her, and she reciprocating his affection 
became his mistress on the promise of 
marriage in the event of a male child 
being born. This event duly happened, 
and Lucien prepared to keep his word. 
This came to the ears of N., and by 
means of his police he tried to prevent 
the marriage, but Lucien outwitted 
him, and the couple were married at 
the villag'e of Plessis on 23 Oct. 1803. 
Exile intoi Italy followed. The mar- 
riag-e proved one of the happiest, and 
Lucien was a devoted husband. He 
steadily and persistently refused to 
repudiate his wife despite N.'s re- 
peated wishes and bribes. Mme. 
Lucien on her part consented unsel- 
fishly to a separation, asking her hus- 
band if he wished to deprive his 
children of thrones, to which he re- 
plied by asking her if she would de- 
prive them of a mother. That she was 
worthy of this devotion, whatever her 
former record, is beyond doubt. In 
Napoleon and his Family, M. Leseure 
says that " she was a Frenchwoman 
with a Roman heart ; she remained 
the good genius of Lucien's unsettled 
life, and the honour and charm of his 
wandering hearth." By her beauty 
and intelligence she seems to have 
won all hearts. Lucien's daughters by 
his first wife adored their step-mother, 
for whose benefit Charlotte, the elder, 
wrote those witty and sarcastic letters, 
when entrusted to the care of her 
grandmother, Mme. M^re, in prepara- 



69 



BONAPARTE 

tion for some royal alHance determined 
upon by N. — letters that mercilessly 
dissected the characters and foibles of 
the Bonapartes and which, intercepted 
by the secret police, were read by the 
Emperor, who sent the writer back to 
her parents. By her second marriage, 
Mme. Lucien had nine children, five 
sons and four daughters. 

Bonaparte, Mathilde Letitia 
Wilhelmina (1820-1904),— Daughter 
of Jerome Bonaparte by his wife 
Catherine, Princess of Wiirttemburg ; 
was born at Trieste on 20 May 1820. 
A betrothal between Mathilde and her 
cousin Louis Napoleon was at first 
thought of, but in 1840 she married 
Prince Anatole Demlidov. Within five 
years a separation ensued consequent 
upon her husband's conduct, and at 
the command of the Tsar, Nicholas I., 
a handsome allowance was made to 
Princess Mathilde. When Louis 
Napoleon was elected president of the 
Republic she took up her residence in 
Paris, and till his marriage did the 
honours of the Elysee. She resided in 
Paris till her death on 2 Jan. 1904. 
She wielded great influence as a 
friend and patron of men of art and 
letters, herself pO'Ssessing a brilliant 
Sntellect. 

Bonaparte. Napoleon Charles 
(1802 - 7). — The eldest son of Louis 
Bonaparte by his marriage with Hor- 
tense Beauharnais, the daughter of 
Josephine and the Vicomte de Beau- 
harnais; was born on 10 Oct. 1802, 
and many hopes were centred in this 
child. N. saw in him the heir of his 
family and dynasty ; the heir which he 
himself had been denied. To Josephine 
the child meant the allaying of her 
ever-present fear of divorce, besides 
the fact that in him the Beauharnais 
secured the ascendancy in the feud 
between them and the Bonaparte 
family. The child endeared himself to 
N., who was never tired of having 
hiim with him, playing with the boy 
as if a child himself. This the Bona- 
partes viewed with jealousy, and when 
the Emperor sought Louis's acqui- 
escence to his desire of adopting little 
Napoleon as his heir, Joseph, angered 
at his own claim to the succession 
being thus put aside, so worked on the 
morbid mind of Louis that the latter 



BONAPARTE 

dared N. to "take his son from him," 
and utterly refused to consider the pro- 
posal. Despite this, the Emperor con- 
tinued to take great interest in the 
boy, and his death came as a severe 
blow. Death took place on 5 May 
1807, the result of an attack of croup. 
Under the Restoration the body of this 
child, buried in Notre Dame, was re- 
moved therefromi by a Royalist order. 
For the scandalous suggestions that 
Napoleon Charles was the son of the 
Emperor see articles on Louis and 

HORTENSE. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon Joseph 
Charles Paul (1822 - 91), — The 

second son of Jerome Bonaparte by 
his wife Catherine, Princess of Wiirt- 
temburg; was born at Trieste on 
9 Sept. 1822. He was known as 
Prince Napoleon, or by the sobriiquet 
of "Plon-Plon," this being derived 
from the nickname " Plomb-plomb" or 
" Craint-plomb " (fear-lead), given 
him, it is said, by Ms soldiers in the 
Crimea. He adopted advanced demo- 
cratic ideas, the expression of which 
gained hiim great popularity, and after 
the revolution of 1848 he was elected 
as a representative of Corsica and sat 
in the National Assembly. He now 
assumed the name of Jerome, his elder 
brother, Jerome Napoleon Charles, 
dying in 1847. I" accordance with his 
republican profession he had seem- 
ingly opposed the coup d'etat of 1851, 
but this notwithstanding, on the estab- 
lishment of the Second Empire he was 
named as successor to the throne in 
the event of Napoleon III. dying 
without heirs. A liberal allowance was 
allotted him, but his station now pre- 
vented him taking any part in public 
affairs, though in private he still pro- 
fessed to represent the Napoleonic 
tradition in its democratic aspect. His 
associates were men known for their 
advanced opinions, and at court he re- 
presented the Liberal party against the 
Empress Eugenie. As general of divi- 
sion he took part in the Crimean cam- 
paign of 1854, and his conduct at the 
battle of the Alma led to imputations 
being cast on his personal courag-e, 
but they seemed tO' have no basis in 
fact. The National Exhibition of 1855 
was under his direction, and in this 
he displayed great capabilities. In 



70 



BONAPARTE 

1858 he was made minister for the 
Ckj'lonies and Algeria, and on his 
administration great hopes were 
placed, but events occurred which 
diverted his energies to other channels. 
In Jan. 1859 he married Princess 
Marie Clotilde of Savoy, daughter of 
Victor Emmanuel, and soon after this 
event the war for the liberation of 
Italy broke out. In this war Prince 
Napoleon took part. He had command 
of the French corps that occupied Tus- 
cany, and it was generally thought that 
he would become ruler of the princi- 
pality, but, true to his democratic 
principles, he refused to put any pres- 
sure on the people, who preferred 
union with the kingdom of Italy. He 
next became distinguished as an 
orator, making some remarkable 
speeches, but his eloquence was often 
at the cost of discretion, and a speech 
in 1 86 1 necessitated his departure for 
the States to avoid a duel with the Due 
d'Aumale, whilst another in 1865, just 
but scarcely diplomatic, protesting 
against the Mexican expedition, was 
the price of his official dignities. In 
1869 he was instrumental in effecting 
the reform by which it was sought to 
reconcile the Empire with Liberal 
principles. While he was away in 
Norway the fateful war of 1870 was 
resolved upon, and strongly denounced 
by him. When the first disasters took 
place he undertook a mission to Italy 
to beg the help of his father-in-law, 
but with no success ; and after the fall 
of the Empire he lived in retirement 
until 1879, when the death of the son 
of Napoleon III., the Prince Imperial, 
made him heir to the Napoleonic suc- 
cession. As imperial pretender he was 
neither effectual nor successful ; the 
imperial party found fault with his 
democratic opinions, whilst his son 
Prince Victor Napoleon, supported by 
Paul de Cassagnac and others, entered 
the lists against him in 1884, so that 
before his death he was virtually 
deposed. 

In character of intellect and appear- 
ance he bore a remarkable resemblance 
to the great Napoleon. Art and litera- 
ture had always attracted him, and 
there is no doubt that if opportunity 
had allowed him he would have 
achieved high distinction in the realm 



BONAPARTE 

of literature. He died at Rome on 
17 March 1891. 

Bonaparte, Napoleon Louis 

(1804-31).— The second son of Louis 
Bonaparte; was born on 11 Oct. 1804, 
the first member of the Bonaparte 
family to be born a royal prince. His 
baptismal ceremony was one of great 
pomp and magnificence. In 1809 N. 
created him Grand Duke of Berg and 
Cleves. In 1810 Louis abdicated in 
favour of Napoleon Louis, but N. sent 
an aide-de-camp and took poissession 
of the boy. For several years Louis 
soug'ht toi take his son from the care of 
his wife, Hortense, and in 18 15 gained 
his point. Napoleon Louis was brought 
up amid the gloomy surroundings of his 
invalid father, whose whole attention, 
apart from literary and philosophic 
studies, was directed to his son's 
education. In 1825 Napoleon Louis 
married his cousin, the Princess 
Charlotte, daughter of Joseph Bona- 
parte. He took part in the Italian 
insurrection in the Romagna (1831), 
but was attacked by a serious illness 
at Forli, where he died in the spring 
of that year, his death proving a severe 
blow to both Louis and his wife. 

Bonaparte, Paul Maria (Pauline) 
(1780-1825).— Was born at Ajaccio on 
20 Oct. 1780, the second surviving 
sister of N. Her birth is mentioned 
in the fragmentary memoirs left by 
her father. Carlo Buonaparte (q-v.). 
Though, by all accounts, her moral 
character was lamentably lax, and her 
intellectual capacities undeveloped, yet 
it must be laid to her credit that she 
never intrigued against N. as did Elisa 
and, notably, Caroline Murat. Pauline, 
indeed, though she often disobeyed her 
brother and disgraced him by her 
numerous amours, was the only one 
who appreciated N. as a benefactor, 
and was the one member of the family 
who' really loved him, as was evidenced 
by her sincere grief at his misfortunes 
and her efforts to help and console him. 

When the Bonaparte family was 
forced to flee from Corsica and settle 
at Marseilles, Pauhne was only thir- 
teen, yet by reason of her really re- 
markable beauty and somewhat giddy 
disposition she soon attracted notice. 
Junot, among others, was a suitor for 
her hand. Fr^ron (q.v.), then on a 



71 



BONAPARTE 

revolutionary mission to the south, also 
fell under her spell, and a passionate 
attachiment sprang- up between Pauline 
and the young" commissioner, as is 
amply demonstrated by Pauline's and 
her lover's letters, some of which have 
been preserved. Freron's suit, how- 
ever, was frowned upon both by N. 
and Mme, Bonaparte, and in 1797 
she was married to General Leclerc 
-{q-"^-) at Montebello. A son, Der- 
mide, was born of the marriage, who, 
however, died in childhood. When 
N. organised the expedition to San 
Domingo in 1801 he g-ave the com- 
mand to his brother-in-law Leclerc, 
and, wishing to put a stop to the 
frivolous life his sister was leading 
in Paris, insisted on her accompany- 
ing- her husband, despite tears and 
protestations which really made her 
ill. By N. 's command, however, she 
was carried in a litter on board the 
admiral's ship, the Ocean, on which 
was her former lover, Fr^ron, going- 
out as commissioner to the same 
destination. San Domingo laid no 
restrictions on Pauline's pleasure- 
loving nature, and by all accounts 
she plunged into all kinds of dissipa- 
tion. In the face of dang-er, how- 
e\^er, she showed admirable courage, 
according to Constant, and when her 
husband, worn out by the misfortunes 
which had dogged the expedition, fell 
a victim to cholera she nursed him, 
in spite of the dang-er of infection, 
with exemplary devotion. At his death 
she displayed extravagant grief. She 
caused his body to be embalmed and 
placed in a splendid coffin of cedar 
wood, and, cutting- off her hair, laid 
it beside the corpse. In the two outer 
coverings of the coffin, however, she 
packed her jewellery and valuables, for 
•greater safety on the return voyage to 
France, which she, with her little son, 
accomplished on the Swiftsure. The 
body was burlied in the Pantheon with 
g-reat pomp and state, and Mme. 
Leclerc, overjoyed to be once more 
in Paris, again resumed her life of 
pleasure, despite shattered health, a 
condition attributed by some tO' dis- 
sipation. To prevent any more scan- 
dal concerning Pauline, N. had desired 
her to reside with Joseph Bonaparte 
and his wife, and live, at least for a 



BONAPARTE 

time, a secluded life. But this was 
an impossibility to Pauline, and her 
intrigues were as numerous as ever, 
notably one with Lafon, an actor 
of the Theatre Frangais. In Nov. 
1803, however, Pauline married Prince 
Borghese (q.v.), his wealth and title 
proving- irresistible attractions. For 
dowry N. gave his sister 500,000 
francs and the estate of Montg-obert 
near Paris. The ceremony was cele- 
brated at Joseph's magnificent seat at 
Mortefontaine, though in the absence 
of N., who was at the camp of 
Boulogne. The marriag-e proved an 
unhappy one. Both went their own 
way, and if the Prince had mistresses, 
Pauline had lovers. Rome was scan- 
dalised and Pauline amused. She 
made no attempt to please her husband 
or his people, and a separation was 
spoken of. N., however, insisted upon 
an ostensible reconciliation, and also 
quenched his sister's ever-present idea 
of returning to Paris for the meantime. 
This was in 1807, after the peace of 
Tilsit ; but the quarrel broke out again, 
and Princess Borgihese went her own 
way. In i8o5 she had been g-iven by 
N. the principality of Guastalla, and 
in 1809 he augmented the revenues 
to a substantial extent. She wan- 
dered from city to city seeking- 
pleasure and health, exoiting- atten- 
tion wherever she went. Paris, how- 
ever, was her favourite resort, and 
after Josephine's divorce she took for 
a while the place of the Empress. 
According to some authorities, she 
had been a prime mover in the in- 
trig-ues whereby N, was persuaded to 
put away Josephine, though others 
deny this. She was not in favour of 
the Austrian alliance, and in one 
Instance her conduct towards Marie 
Louise was so rude that N. in just 
anger commanded his favourite sister 
to stay at Neuilly and forbade her the 
court. 

When disaster came Pauline at 
last showed that she possessed some 
qualities of character, such as couragfe 
and generosity. Before N. left France 
she had an interview with him at Boull- 
lidon, near Luc, and wished to accom- 
pany him then and there to Elba. N., 
however, would not hear of this, but 
In June she carried him a dispatch 



72 



BONAPARTE 

from Murat, and in Sept. she returned 
and took up her residence there to 
cheer and console the exile. Her 
money and jewels were at his dis- 
posal. Besides this she proved that 
she had some capability, for a large 
share of the plans for N.'s return to 
France are believed to have been in 
her hands. After his departure from 
Elba, Pauline, to escape espionage, 
also proceeded to Paris, and further 
helped her brother with her valuable 
and muoh-loved diamonds, a sacrifice 
on her part which is eloquent of her 
affection for N. Unfortunately, the 
conveyance containing her diamonds 
was captured by the English after 
Waterloo, and later the jewels were 
exhibited in London to a gaping 
public. Pauline's health was com- 
pletely shattered by the final disaster, 
and she retired to Rome with her 
mother. The Pope brought about a 
reconciliation between her and Prince 
Borghese, and satisfactorily arranged 
her financial affairs. But her mind 
was set upon joining N. at St. Helena, 
and when the Abbei Buomavita had 
given his account of N.'s failing 
health, she wrote to Lord Liverpool 
early in July 182 1 as follows: "My 
Lord, — The abbe Buonavita, arrived 
from the island of St. Helena, has 
brought us alarming news of the state 
of my brother's health. I enclose a 
copy of some letters, which will give 
you the details of his physical suffer- 
ings. The malady by which the 
Emperor is attacked is fatal at St. 
Helena. In the name of all the mem- 
bers of the family I implore a change 
of climate. If so just a request be 
refused it will be a sentence of death 
passed upon him ; and in this case I 
demand permission to depart for St. 
Helena to rejdin my brother. ... I 
know that the moments of his life 
are counted, and I sihould eternally 
reproach myself if I did not employ 
all the means in my power to soften 
his last hours and to prove my de- 
votion to him." Permission was 
granted, at which she was overjoyed, 
when the news of her brother's death 
arrived. In her feeble condition this 
was a terrible blow, and caused a 
shock from which she never recovered. 
When Antommarchi, returning from 



BONAPARTE 

St. Helena with N.'s last messages, 
found Marie Louise at the theatre 
with Neipperg, and Louis Bonaparte 
"too ill" to receive him, Pauline 
welcomed him gladly, but the grief 
at the pitiful tale only tended to 
aggravate her condition. She lingered 
on for a few years, finally going from 
Rome to Florence, the climate of the 
former being declared bad for her by 
the doctors. She died at Florence on 
9 June 1825 in the arms of her hus- 
band, with whom she had been recon- 
ciled. The beautiful statue of Venus 
Victorieuse by Canova was modelled 
from Pauline Bonaparte when Princess 
Borghese. 

Bonaparte, Pierre Napoleon 
(1815-81).— Third son of Lucien Bona- 
parte; was born at Rome on 12 
Sept. 181 5. He was known for his 
adventurous life, which he began at 
the early age of fifteen, when he joined 
the bands of insurrectionists in the 
Romagna (1830-31). The following 
year he went to the United States, 
joining his uncle Joseph, and in 
Colombia was with General Santander 
(1832). Some years later he returned 
to Rome only to be taken prisoner by 
order of the Pope (1835-36). He 
escaped to England, but after the revo- 
lution of 1848 he returned to France 
and sat as deputy for Corsica in the 
Constituent Assembly, where his 
politics were those of an extreme re- 
publican and his votes went to 
socialists. He was in favour of the 
national workshops and against the loi 
Falloux. This attitude of Pierre 
Bonaparte did much to strengthen 
popular confidence in his cousin Louis 
Napoleon (Napoleo^n III.). He 
strongly disapproved of that cousin's 
coup d dtat (2 Dec. 1851), but a recon- 
ciliation took place between them, and 
the Emperor created him a prince. 
The acceptance of this title cost him 
the support of the republican party, 
and his political career came to an end. 
He sank into a depraved course of life 
and dabbled in literature, but his pro- 
ductions were worthless. In 1870 he 
again came into prominence, when, as 
the outcome of a controversy with 
Paschal Grousset, who at last sent 
soime journalists to provoke him to a 
duel, he drew his revolver and shot 



73 



BORGHESE 

one of them. dead. The republican 
press demanded his trial, and when 
the High Court acquitted him their 
criticism of the government became 
bitter and hostile. Pierre Bonaparte 
had married Justine Eleanore Ruffin, 
the daughter of a Paris working man. 
Two children had been born before the 
marriage : Roland Napoleon, who' was 
born 19 May 1858; entering the army 
to be excluded from it in 1886, after- 
wards devoting himself to geography 
and scientific exploration ; and Jeanne, 
who married the Marquis de Vence. 
Pierre Bonaparte died in obscurity on 
7 April 1881 at Versailles. 

Borghese, Camillo Filippo Lu- 
dovico, Prince (1775-1832).— Married 
Pauline, sister of N. and widow of 
General Leclerc, in 1803. He was 
one of the richest men in Italy and 
owned the magnificent Borghese 
Palace an Rome with all its art 
treasures. Tho'Ugh a Roman prince 
and the great-nephew of Pope Paul V. , 
he had been one of the first to embrace 
the principles of the Revolution and 
served in the ranks of the French 
Army during its first campaign in 
Italy. He was much bepraised for 
this, but a deeper motive is said to 
have inspired his action — the preserva- 
tion of the immense wealth and estates 
of the family from the French who 
would not touch the property of a sup- 
porter. On the other hand, the 
brother of Borghese, Prince Aldobran- 
dini, pined the Papal party so as to 
secure protection also from them. The 
plan succeeded admirably. Prince 
Borghese had the reputation of a fop 
and his magnificence caused a great 
sensation in Paris, In 1806 N, made 
Borghese Duke of Guastalla and also 
governor of the Piedmontese and 
Genoese provinces. The marriage 
with Pauline Bonaparte was unhappy, 
but a reconciliation was brought about 
by the Pope before her death in 1825 at 
Florence, whither the Prince had re- 
tired after the fall of N. 

Borghetto, Battle of,— An action 
of N.'s Italian campaigns, fought on 
29 May 1796, between the French 
under Napoleon and the Austrians 
under Beaulieu. The latter were 
forced to evacuate Peschiera, and lost 
1,200 prisoners and five cannon. 



BOULAY 

Borgo, Act of Guarantee given 

at. — A guarantee issued on 27 March 
1809 by Alexander I. of Russia to con- 
ciliate th-e Finns. He had conquered 
Finland in the preceding year, but 
fears for the lasting effects of his co^n- 
quest and the non-arrival of assistance 
promised him by N,, decided him oa 
this peaceable measure. By the Act of 
Guarantee the Emperor bound himself 
tO' respect the religion, the laws and 
constitutions of Finland, and the rights 
and privileges of its inhabitants, at the 
same time confirming' his own title as 
Grand Duke of Finland. 

Borodino (or iVioskva), Battle of. 
— 'Towards the beginning of Sept. 
1812, during his marcli on Moscow, N. 
determined to concentrate and fight a 
decisive battle and end the war at a 
blow. He succeeded in collecting 
125,000 men under Murat, Ney, and 
Davout, to oppose the Russian 110,000 
under Kutusov, The battle began 
early on 7 Sept. and continued all day 
until both sides became exhausted, but 
no decision was arrived at. The losses 
were enormous ; the French 25,000 and 
the Russian 38,000 men in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners. The battle 
of Borodino has been called the 
bloodiest fight of the century. 

Bouiay de la iVIeurtlie, Antoine 
Jaques, Comte (1761-1840).— Prac- 
tised as an advocate until 1795, when 
he became a member of the Council 
of Five Hundred. He and his friend 
Bailleul, who was ejected from the 
Tribunat in 1802, played a consider- 
able part in the proceedings of the 
coup d^itat. Thibaudeau eliminated 
Bouiay 's name from the list of those 
sentenced to transportation to 
Cayenne, for having acted as advocate 
and ofl&cial apologist tO' the Directors 
while they were in power, and thus 
probably saved him from death. In 
the year 1797 Bouiay presented a 
scheme to expel from society all ex- 
nobles or persons who had held posi- 
tions under the monarchy. Happily 
the motion, which made a great out- 
cry, was not carried, and Bouiay de- 
serted the Directors and turned his 
attention to the coup d'etat of 
Brumaire, thereby rendering N. con- 
siderable assistance, Bouiay was re- 
warded by a seat in the council of 



74 



BOULOGNE 

state, and in addition the position of 
superintendent of the national domain. 
On promoting- him to this office N. 
charged Boulay with the following in- 
structions : "To deal as indulgently as 
possible with regard to individuals and 
as sternly as possible with regard to 
property." Created a count in 1808, 
during- the Hundred Days he returned 
to the official post of which he had 
been deprived in 1814. He was raised 
to the rank of minister of state, but 
spent the subsequent years in Ger- 
many, where he was exiled after the 
second Restoration. In 1820 he was 
permitted to return to France, where 
he remained until his death in 1840. 

Boulogne Flotilla.— See Naval 
Operations. 

Bourrienne, Louis Antoine 
Fauvelet de (1769 - 1834). — The 
career of Bourrienne is of interest only 
in so far as portions of it were spent in 
the service of the Emperor, whose 
close companion and secretary he was 
for a number of years. The circum- 
stances of this connexion are fully 
outlined in the accompanying- sketch 
of Bourrienne 's Mimoires, so that all 
that is necessary here is a brief sum- 
mary of the outstanding- events in the . 
life of the man whose work has be- 
come, perhaps, the most popular 
memoar of the hero he served. 
Bourrienne was a native of Sens, and 
became intimate with N. at the 
military school at Brienne. In 1797 
N. appointed him his personal secre- 
tary, and he accompanied him to Italy 
and Egypt. In 1802 he was dismissed 
for a flag-rantly dishonourable bank- 
ruptcy, and was sent to Hamburgf. The 
official post he occupied in that sphere 
afforded him opportunities for pecula- 
tion, and he was compelled toi disgorge 
nearly one million francs which he had 
embezzled. Furious at the discovery 
of his frauds, he joined hands with 
the Bourbon party, and when they re- 
turned to power in 181 5 he sat in the 
Chamber of Representatives, later be- 
coming a minister of state. But his 
extravagant habits once more gfot him 
into difficulties, and crazed at the 
financial ruin which now confronted 
him, he had to retire to an asylum at 
Caen, where he died. Dishonourable 
and pretentious, his memoirs are to be 



BOURRIENNE 

read with caution, and there are, 
according- to some authorities, reasons 
for believing that they were not 
written by him. 

Memoirs. — A good deal of discus- 
sion has taken place on the genuine- 
ness or otherwise of Bourrienne 's 
memoirs. There is very little doubt 
that many reminiscences he sets forth 
have been tinged by his imagination, 
and perhaps looking- back, as he did, 
through the years upon the great 
drama in which he played so con- 
spicuous a part for a while he prob- 
ably saw everything- mag-nified and out 
of proportion. It must be remembered 
also that he quitted N.'s service at a 
comparatively early date, and that the 
remainder of his memoirs were there- 
fore written from the point of view 
not of a member of the inner circle 
but of a private citizen. We may pass 
over the first four chapters, which deal 
with the early years of N. and which 
are therefore without much authority. 
Had Bourrienne written of his Bohe- 
mian days with N. he could have 
furnished us with matter of quite 
extraordinary value, but he chose to 
write as a diplomat first and as an 
ami intime second. He joined N. as 
secretary the day after the signature 
of the preliminaries of peace at 
Leoben, and he had perforce to drop 
all familiar intercourse with his former 
friend. "There was," he says, "no 
more ' thee-ing- and thou-ingf. ' " On 
the new secretary's entry N. said to 
him in a loud voice when he entered 
the apartment where the General stood 
surrounded by a brilliant staff : " I am 
g^lad to see you at last." N. was 
pleased with Bourrienne's reserve, and 
took him at once into his political 
counsels. The plans which led up to 
18 Fructidor (4 Sept. 1797) are laid 
bare, and the events which circled 
round the treaty of Campo Formio 
and which preluded N.'s withdrawal 
from Italy. In the same chapter the pro- 
ject of the Egyptian expedition is de- 
scribed, with :its hazards and N.'s final 
return to France. Later we have a 
most valuable portrait of the First 
Consul, his domestic manners, habits, 
prejudices and opinions. Says the 
memoiirist : " His finely shaped head, 
his superb forehead, his pale and 



75 



BOURRIENNE 

elongated visage and his meditatlive 
look have been transferred to the 
canvas, but tihe quickness of his 
glance and the rapidity of his ex- 
pression were beyond imitation. . . . 
It may be truly said that he had a 
particular look for every thought that 
arose in his mind — ^an; appropriate 
visage for every impulse that ag'itated 
his soul. He had finely formed hands. 
. . . He also fancied that he had 
fine teeth, but his pretensions to that 
advantage did not appear to me to 
be so well founded." 

"He had two ruling passions," says 
Bourrienne, "the love of glory and the 
love of war. He was never more gay 
than in the camp, and never more 
morose than when unemployed." This 
militates against N.'s assertion that all 
he desired was the peace of Europe. 
"My power," he would say, "depends 
on my glory, and my glory on the 
Victories I have gained. My power 
will fall if I do' not pass on to fresh 
glories and new victories. Conquest 
has made me what I am, and con- 
quest alone can enable me to main- 
tain my place." "It was," says the 
memoirist, " this sentiment wihich was 
always uppermost in his mind, and 
which became his ruling principle of 
action — that occasioned his incessant 
dreaming of new wars and scattering 
fresh seeds throughout Europe. He 
"believed that if he remained stationary 
(he would fall, and he was tormented 
"with the desire to be always advancing. 
It was impossible," says Bourrienne, 
" to expect repose on the part of a man 
who was restlessness itself." 

That portion of the memoirs which 
deals with the secret police and Fouche 
is of an interesting character. " Napo- 
leon," says Bourrienne, " had the weak- 
ness to fear Fouche, and at the same 
time to consider him necessary." It 
also' gives some account of the manner 
in which the First Consul left the 
Luxembourg and took up residence at 
the Tuileries. "Well, Bourrienne," he 
said, "we shall at length sleep in the 
Tuileries. You are very fortunate you 
are not obliged to make a show of 
yourself. You may gO' in your own 
way, but for myself I must go in a 
procession. This is what I dislike ; 
"but we must have a display : this is 



BOURRIENNE 

what people like. The Directory was 
too simple ; it therefore enjoyed no 
consideration." Speaking of the con- 
suls who partook of power along with 
him at this time, N. says : "They walk 
quick who walk alone. Lebrun is an 
honest man, but he has no head for 
politics. He makes books. Cam- 
bacer^s has too many traditions of 
the Revolution. My government must 
be entirely new." Seeing the number 
of caps of liberty which had been 
painted upon the walls of the Tuileries, 
ihe said to M. le Campe, then the archi- 
tect employed at that palace: ""Wash 
out all those things; I won't have any 
such fooleries." "What N. thought of 
the revolutionists may be judged fro'm 
an evening's conversation with Bour- 
rienne, when he said: "To be at the 
Tuileries is not all. We must remain 
here. Who are they who have in- 
habited this palace? Ruffians, the 
conventionalists. Stop a moment : 
there is your brother's house ; was 
it not from thence that we beheld 
the Tuileries besieged and the good 
Louis X"VI. carried off? But be 
tranquil ! Let them try St again ! " 
The incident of the payment of 
Josephine's debts is described at 
length in chapter xii. The events 
which led up to the campaign in Italy 
and the Battle of Marengo are next 
related ; then the peace of Amiens and 
the expedition toi St. Domingo. It was 
about this period, thinks Bourrienne, 
that the malady commenced which 
finally caused N.'s death. When dic- 
tating to the memoirist he was fre- 
quently seized with violent pain, which 
attacked him with great severity. The 
domestic intrigues of the Bonapartes 
are alluded to at some length. Their 
theatrical amusements are also de- 
scribed. The disgrace of Fouche is 
reviewed, and N.'s quarrel with 
Marshal Lannes. There was a vio- 
lent scene between the marshal and 
the First Consul, who had told Lannes 
to furnish the Hotel de Noailles and 
had afterwards refused the funds for 
that purpose — no less than 400,000 
francs. N. told Lannes to take the 
money from the chest of the Guard, 
but immediately after he had done so 
the treasurer received from the chief 
commissary an order to balance his 



76 



BOURRIENNE 

accounts, and it was incumbent upon 
Lannes to repay the money to the 
Guard's chest at once. General 
Lefebvre furnished him with this large 
sum to repay the debt, saying- to him : 
"Wihy did you go and get into debt 
w^ith that fellow? Here are the 
400,000 francs. Take them to him 
and let him go to the devil ! " 
Lannes hastened to the First Consul 
and upbraided him in no measured 
terms. " How could you condescend 
to such an unworthy act : to lay such 
a snare for me after all that I have 
done for you — after all the blood I 
have shed to promote your ambi- 
tion. Is thiis the recompense you 
have reserved for me? You forget 
the 13 Vendemiaire ! You forget 
Millessimo ! You saw what I did at 
Lodi and at Governolo, and yet playest 
me such a trick as this ! But for me 
Paris would have revolted on the i8th 
Brumaire ! Without me you would 
have lost the Battle of Marengo." 
N., pale with anger, listened without 
stirring, and Lannes was on the poiint 
of challenging him when Junot, who' 
heard the uproar, hastily entered. 
"Well, then," said N. "Go to Lis- 
bon. You will get money there, and 
when you return you will not want 
anyone to pay your debts." Thus was 
Lannes sent to Portugal. 

It was immediately after this 
quarrel that the rupture between N. 
and Bourrienne took place. The busi- 
ness of his office, says the memoirist, 
had become too great for him, and his 
health was so much endangered by 
over-application that his physician im- 
pressed upon him the necessity of re- 
laxation, and formally warned him that 
he could not hold out under the fatigue 
he underwent. On 27 Feb. 1802, at 
ten o'clock at night, N. dictated a 
dispatch to him for Talleyrand, re- 
questing him to come to the Tuileries 
next morning. Bourrienne gave the 
letter to the office messenger to for- 
ward. On Talleyrand's appearance 
next day N. immediately began to 
confer with him on the subject of the 
letter sent the previous evening, and 
was astonished to learn that he had 
not received it until the morning. He 
ordered Bourrienne to be sent for, and, 
being in a bad humour, asked him 



BOURRIENNE 

what the delay in the dispatch of the 
letter meant. Bourrienne, after making 
inquiries, returned to say that it was 
no one's fault as Talleyrand was not 
to be found either at his own house 
or any of his usual haunts. N. called 
the messenger and questioned him 
sharply. The man gave confused 
answers. In his rage, N. had pulled 
the bell so hard that he had knocked 
his hand against the chimney-piece 
and cut it. He grew more and more 
furious, and at length worked himself 
into such a transport of passion as to 
slam the door in Bourrienne's face, 
shouting : " Leave me alone ; you are 

a 1- fool." This in turn roused 

Bourrienne to fury, who, thrusting the 
door open, called out in a great rage : 
"You are a hundredfold greater fool 
than I am." Still under the influence 
of anger, Bourrienne penned the fol- 
lowing resignation : 

" General,— The state of my health 
does not permit me longer to continue 
in your service. I therefore beg you 
to accept my resignation. 

"Bourrienne.'' 

He received a letter from Duroc to 
the following effect : 

"The First Consul desires me, my 
dear Bourrienne, to inform you that he 
accepts your resignation, and to re- 
quest that you will give me the neces- 
sary information respecting your 
papers. — Yours, 

"Duroc. 

"P.S. — I will call on you presently." 

Duroc and Bourrienne visited the 
First Consul's cabinet that evening for 
the purpose of putting the papers in 
order. Piqued on finding that Bour- 
rienne did not speak to him, N. said 
to his late secretary in a harsh tone : 
"Go, I have had enough of this. 
Leave me." "I stepped down," says 
Bourrienne, "from the ladder on which 
I had mounted for the purpose of 
pointing out to Duroc the places in 
which the various papers were de- 
posited, and hastily withdrew. I, too, 
had had quite enough of it." 

Two days afterwards Bourrienne 
left the Tuileries. Before doing so he 



n 



BOURRiENNE 

went down to the cabinet of the First 
Consul to take his leave of him. They 
conversed together for a long- time 
very amicably. N. told Bourrienne 
that he was very sorry he w.as going 
to leave him and that he would do' all 
he could for him, Bourrienne break- 
fasted with N. on the following day, 
and after that meal Josephine and 
Hortense pressed the secretary to 
make advances towards obtaining re- 
instatement in his office, but accord- 
ing to himself, Bourrienne did not 
desire this. As the late secretary was 
quitting the Tuileries for good, he was 
told that N. desired to see him. 
Meeting Duroc in the anteroom lead- 
ing to the cabinet that functionary 
said to him : " He wishes you to re- 
main. I beg of you do not refuse." 
On entering the cabinet N. came up 
to Bourrienne smiling, and pulling 
him by the ear, said : "Are you still in 
the sulks? Come, sit down." The 
secretary reassumed his usual office 
and work. Not long after this, how- 
ever, N. said to him one day: "My 
dear Bourrienne, you cannot really do 
everything. Business increases and 
will continue to increase." Then he 
went on to say that Joseph had recom- 
mended a secretary to him, M. 
Mendval. "Bonaparte," says Bour- 
rienne, "had never pardoned me for 
presuming to quit him after he had 
attained so high a degree of power. 
He was only waiting for an oppor- 
tunity to punish me. . . . My rupture 
has been the subject of various mis- 
statements, all of which I shall not 
take the trouble to correct." The 
only one he does "take the trouble to 
correct" was that which accused him 
of peculation. Bourrienne thinks that 
if N. had been left to himself he would 
have recalled him. Shortly after he 
left N.'s service, Bourrienne received 
notice that N. desired the keys of a 
small house at Ruel and of another at 
Paris which belonged to Bourrienne. 
It appears that N. had also received 
notice that a deficit of 100,000 francs 
had been discovered in the treasury of 
the navy, and this he required Bour- 
rienne to refund immediately. Bour- 
rienne denounced this as an infamous 
calumny, and when N. read his reply, 
he ordered Duroc to say that it was 



BRtENNE 

entirely a mistake, and that he was 
convinced that he had been deceived. 

It may be said that at this point 
Bourrienne 's first-hand knowledge of 
Napoleonic history ends. He was 
appointed as minister to Hamburg 
some time afterwards, where he had a 
difficult task to perform. In Dec. 
1810 he received a letter from Cham- 
pagny stating that the Emperor wished 
to see him, but when he arrived in 
Paris found that N. did not wish to 
receive him. Bourrienne waited upon 
Josephine, and an affecting scene 
ensued. "My dear Bourrienne," said 
she, "I have drained my cup of mis- 
fortune. He has cast me off, for- 
saken me. Ah, we judged him 
rightly." 

After the disaster at Waterloo 
Bourrienne was appointed president of 
the Yonne and named councillor and 
minister of state. It is impossible to 
judge from these memoirs whether he 
cherished feelings of revenge and 
hatred towards his old master or other- 
wise. In passages the feeling appears 
to be none too cordial, while in other 
places respect and admiration are un- 
grudgingly paid to his memory. The 
probabilities are that Bourrienne in 
reality found N. rather a hard task- 
master, for his health was none too 
good, but that he tried to cling to 
office and all that office meant for as 
long as he could. But having re- 
signed office he was not a little 
vindictive. Under the Bourbon 
regime he would have done himself 
little good had he been too' enthusiastic 
regarding the great man he had at one 
time assisted in the work of adminis- 
tration. Lastly, judging the man 
from his own memoirs, it is not un- 
likely that he unconsciously irritated 
N. He probably could never forget 
that at one time they had been in- 
timates, and if no man is a hero to his 
valet, he is probably a good deal less 
to those who have known h'im in early 
days. 

Boyer, Christine Eienore.— See 
Bonaparte, Christine Elenore. 

Brienne, Battle of. — An action 
of the Allies' campaign in France. 
Bliicher, with his army, when on his 
way to join the main forces of the 
Allies, was attacked by the French 



78 



BRiENNE 

under N. at Brienne on 29 Jan. 1814. 
After a terrific struggle the Prussian 
g-eneral was defeated and forced to 
abandon the town. 

Brienne, N.'s Life at (April 1779 
to Oct. 1784).— The record of the days 
spent at Brienne sheds a valuable 
light oil N.'s character, already in- 
dividual and distinct though he had not 
yet reached his tenth birthday. There, 
as the son of a poor noble, educated at 
the King's expense, he suffered many 
slights. Marbeuf (q-v.), whose in- 
fluence had helped to place him at the 
school, sent him gifts of money which 
helped N. over some little difficulties 
and soothed his pride. But these 
hurts were as nothing to those which 
his patriotic spirit endured. He was 
one Corsican among* a whole school of 
boys belonging to the nation that 
claimed to have subjugated Corsica. 
This he was not allowed to forget, and 
the bitterness was intense to such a 
nature as his. Stung to passionate 
sf>eech, he would sing the praises of 
his country and the great Paoli, to 
which the boys answered with jeers 
at his hero, stig^mati^ing Corsica as 
obscure, half-civilized, or more truly, 
savage. Even his name, Napoleon, 
certainly foreign and strange then, 
was made the subject of derision and 
poor jests. Both instructors and 
pupils indulged in this torture of the 
boy, and he became morose and silent 
when not engaged in reprisals of 
tongue or fist. Each pupil being 
allowed a garden-plot he utilized his 
to construct a place of refuge sur- 
rounded by a tall, thick hedge. Here 
he retired to forget his home-sickness 
and wounded pride in the company of 
books, Plutarch's Lives being his 
favourite, and he became known as the 
greatest reader in the school. If any 
boy disturbed him in his refuge then 
woe to him if captured by the young 
Corsican. 

The teachers, among whom was 
Pichegru (q.v.), afterwards so famous, 
do not seem to have appealed to the 
boy's reserved nature. He respected 
several for their attainments, such as 
P^re Dupuy, the teacher of French 
grammar, to whom he afterwards 
submitted his first work, the Lettres 
sur la Corse, before publication, but 



BRIENrdE 

he does not seem to have been person- 
ally drawn to any. One great cause 
of his so-called unsociability lay in the 
fact that the bo}' had been shocl<:ed and 
horrified by the immorality for which 
Brienne was notorious, and hence he 
always held himself aloof. Neither 
teachers nor companions commanded 
his respect, and to the monks he 
showed open rebellion. To put an 
end to this he was at last flogged, 
a punishment he bore without a mur- 
mur. Another time he was made to 
do penance by taking his food on his 
knees at the door of the dining-hall, 
and such a blow was this to his intense 
pride that he became violently ill, and 
it was thought better to remit the 
punishment. 

After a while his reserve was broken 
through. This was effected, so the 
story goes, by a court-martial of N. 
by his fellow-commanders (heads of 
cadet companies, of one of which N. 
was commander), and the verdict was 
that he was unworthy of his rank since 
he refused their friendship. This was 
read to him, and he was degraded from 
his rank. To their surprise, he bore 
this so quietly and meekly that they 
relented towards him. Thenceforward 
he was more popular and companion- 
able, though his school-fellows always 
feared his passionate temper. He 
shone as a leader !in the games when 
the boys formed opposing armies of 
"Greeks" and "Persians," or ac- 
cording' to changing enthusiasms, 
"Romans" and "Carthaginians." 
The winter of 1783 was a severe 
one, and the piles of snow gave N. 
opportunity for a new game. He 
built a square fort of the snow, with 
four bastions and a rampart three and 
a half feet long, all planned with 
scientific accuracy. The missiles of 
attack and defence were snowballs, 
and the mimic warfare often raged 
so fast and furious, under the stimulus 
of the townsfolk who gathered eagerly 
to look on, that the masters were com- 
pelled to interfere. Thus the greatest 
military genius of the period, of many 
periods, began his battles. 

In 1782, much to the home-sick boy's 
delight, N. received a visit from his 
father and mother, for it was one 
of the str'ictest rules of the military 



79 



BRIENNE 

schools that the pupils were not to 
leave the colleges during the time of 
their residence. Hence, unless they 
were visited by their friends, com- 
munication by letter was all they 
could enjoy. Mme. Bonaparte was 
shocked at her son's thinness. She 
had found him asleep in a hammock, 
disciplining himself for a naval career, 
wihich at that time he dreamed of. In 
appearance he was certainly delicate, 
though a latent energy and ardour 
always impressed those who came into 
contact with him. 

In 1783 his brother Lucien was AA^ith 
him at Brienne for some four months, 
and in his testimony we again hear 
of N.'s seriousness, of Ms self-con- 
trol and absence of emotion, and of 
his unsociable manner. Brienne had 
hardened the southern nature, which, 
driven in upon itself, had developed 
rapidly. He was devoted to his pro- 
fession, but the dreams of what he 
could accomplish by its means — the 
liberation of his beloved Corsica from 
hated France — ^were far more to the 
lonely boy, suffering in exile. That 
his mind and its grasp of a subject 
was beyond his years is shown by 
those remarkable letters written to 
Fesch and his father discussing, 
among other matters, the subject of 
his brother Joseph and his career. 
At the end of the letter to his father 
he asks eagerly for more books, for 
Boswell's Corsica and other histories 
and memoirs on the same subject, 
promising to take all care of them 
and to bring them back "if it is six 
years hence." N.'s ambition to enter 
the navy was natural, for Corsicans 
are born sailors, and Keralio, the 
sub-inspector of the schools, had 
encouraged the desire. KeraliO' had 
noticed the serious boy, and in a 
report described him as follows : 
"M. de Buonaparte (Napoleon), born 
August 15, 1769. Height: four feet 
ten inches, ten lines (about five feet 
three inches in English measurements), 
Constitution : excellent health ; docile, 
mild, straight-forward and thought- 
ful. Conduct : most satisfactory ; 
has always been distinguished for 
his application in mathematics. Fairly 
well acquainted with history and geo- 
graphy, but is weak in accomplish- 



BRIENNE 

ments, drawing, music, danding and 
the like. The boy would make an 
excellent sailor; deserves to be ad- 
mitted to the school in Paris." But 
Keralio was replaced by Reynaud de 
Monto, who thought differently. This 
Carlo Buonaparte, N.'s father, re- 
sented, and complained to the minister 
of war that his son's destiny had there- 
by been adversely affected. But N. 
himself had changed his mind, for not 
only did the navy require influence and 
means beyond any possessed by the 
Bonapartes but he had become in- 
terested in the artillery, an arm of the 
service in which personal merit was 
sure of recognition. Thus was taken 
another important step in his career, 
and not long after came the moment- 
ous time when, with four others, N. 
was chosen by Reynaud to^ enter the 
Ecole Militaire de Paris (q-v.), a pre- 
ferment he owed, it is thought, to his 
success in mathematics. 

Brienne itself is famous to-day by 
reason of its great pupil, the modern 
name of the town being Brienne-Napo- 
leon, and in the market-place stands 
his statue. In after days he revisited 
Brienne: in 1805, when he stayed at 
the chateau of Brienne, surrounded by 
many sycophants but few friends ; in 
Jan. 1814, when he took that same 
chateau by force and held it against 
the Russians, and in Feb., only a 
month later, when he lost "his first 
battle on French soil." 

Brienne, The Military School 
of. — The college of Brienne, at which 
N. received his military education, was 
originally a monastery, first becoming 
a college in 1730. In 1776 it was 
made into one of the twelve military 
schools founded by Louis XVI. on the 
advice of St. Germain, his minister of 
war. These schools were under re- 
ligious orders, that of Brienne being 
superintended by the Minims. At 
Brienne, as at the other schools, fifty 
to sixty of the poorer nobility were 
received to be educated at the expense 
of the King, an annual sum of £28 
being paid for each pupil. x'\n equal 
number of pensioners was also to be 
received, St. Germain deeming it 
advisable that the young nobles should 
not be educated wholly by themselves. 
The pupils entered at the age of eight 



80 



BRIENNE 

or nine and stayed there for six years, 
never leaving it for holidays or visits 
to relatives. The curriculum included 
writing, French, Latin, German, geo- 
graphy, history, mathematics, draw- 
ing, music, dancing, and fencing. 
Each pupil had a separate room or 
cell, 6 ft. square, and strict rules 
existed for their conduct. No attend- 
ance was permitted, each one had to 
dress himself, and even keep his 
clothes in order, linen being changed 
twiice a week, while the cadets slept on 
straw beds, only one rug being 
allowed except where a boy was in 
delicate health. Their hair was cut 
short up to the age of twelve, when 
they were allowed to wear a pigtail, 
but no powder with the exception of 
Sundays and Saints' days. Meals 
were generous and were served in a 
common dining-hall. The cadets were 
clothed in a "blue coat with red 
facings and white metal buttons with 
the arms of the college ; their waist- 
coat was blue faced with white, their 
breeches blue or black according to cir- 
cumstances ; they wore an overcoat in 
winter." The system, in its aim to 
promote health and strength by a 
simple and hardy regime, was strik- 
ingly modern. The pupils, it was 
commanded, were not to waste time in 
the making of Latin verses or on ora- 
torical themes ; bfiographies, in especial 
Plutarch's Lives and the historical 
drama, were to be read ; geography 
and history must be taught together. 
The art of war and "of drawing to 
fortifications, castramentation, and 
military topography," must take pre- 
cedence of mathematics, whilst logic 
and ethics pure and simple must be 
taught, without metaphysical subtle- 
ties. Again, "all corporal punishment 
was forbidden as injurious to the 
health, staining the soul and de- 
praving the character." Government 
inspectors visited the school every 
year, their visits each lasting ten days. 
The long vacation, spent at the 
college, lasted from 15 Sept. to 2 Nov., 
the cadet having only one lesson a day, 
the rest of the time being spent in 
recreation. Religious exercises were 
strictly enforced — Mass was celebrated 
every day and confession heard once a 
month. The inspector, Reynaud, in 



BRUMAIRE 

his report on Brienne, stated that the 
boys were of fair behaviour, their food 
was good, their housing bad, mathe- 
matics the only strong subject, and 
general culture deficient. The Minims 
failed to maintain the school at a 
proper level, and lit eventually col- 
lapsed into complete disorder. 

Brueys, d'Aisa-i'liecSf Fran90is 
Paul c' 753-98).— French admiral ; was 
born at Uz^s, dept. Gard. Entering 
the navy in 1766 he took part in the 
American War, but was dismissed the 
service in 1793. He was later rein- 
stated, and was made a rear-admiral, 
commanding the Adriatic squadron in 
1797. In the following year he re- 
ceived command of the fleet destined 
for Egypt, hoisting his flag in I'Orient. 
After disembarking the French Army 
he made the error of awaiting Nelson 
in Aboukir Bay, with the well-known 
disastrous results. He received three 
wounds early in the action, succumb- 
iing to a fourth while still upon his 
quarter-deck. He was already dead 
when the flagship took fire. A statue 
to his memory adorns his native town. 
See Nile, Battle of the. 

Brumaire, Coup d'etat of. — 
It was his coup d itat of Brumaire, 
more than any other event, which 
really determined Bonaparte's destiny; 
yet this event is one which in many 
ways is difficult to understand, cer- 
tainly one which cannot be grasped 
save when bearing in mind that, when 
the future Emperor returned to France 
in 1799, after campaigning in Syria, 
he found a country wJiich might be 
compared to a battleship undergoing 
attacks while destitute of captain and 
helmsman, compass and oommissariat. 
For at this date royalist feeling was 
still strong in many parts of the land, 
and there had lately been divers revolts 
on behalf of the Bourbons ; wihile re- 
lig^ious schism was rife, French com- 
merce had been swept off the seas by 
Nelson, the national purse was almost 
as lean as in the time when Louis XV. 
was daily squandering vast sums on 
his mistresses ; and, worst of all, a 
powerful coalition had lately been 
formed against France — Russia, Eng- 
land, Portugal, Turkey and Austria 
— all these countries had joined hands 
to menace her. At first it seemed 



81 



BRUMAIRE 

to Bonaparte that his most pressing- 
duty was to go and meet the Austrian 
forces mustering- in the north of Italy ; 
he refrained, however, from this step, 
dediding- to stay at home for the 
moment and oust the existing govern- 
ment if possible. Nor should lit be said 
that he took this decision simply with a 
vliew to gratifying personal vanity and 
ambition, for the records of the affair, 
hazy and contradictory as they are, 
indicate abundantly that he was actu- 
ated by lofty motives of patriotism. 
"When the house is crumbling," he 
said to Marmont, "is 'it the time to 
busy oneself with the garden? A 
change here is indispensable." Cer- 
tainly there was no man among all 
the Directorate politicians nearly so 
well fitted as N. to hold the reins 
of France, and none likely to confront 
hinj seriously. Barras was the chief 
power, his main henchman being the 
Ahh6 Siey^s ; but it was whispered 
that these two were secretly plotting- 
in favour of the exiled royal house, 
while Fouch^ was supposed tO' be 
abetting them herein. He and Siey^s, 
nevertheless, were soon virtually won 
over by Bonaparte, wiho also rallied 
to his cause various malcontents who 
had lately been deprived of office, for 
instance, Roederer, Bruix, Real, and 
Cambacer^s, afterwards Second Con- 
sul. More important still, the shrewd 
schemer, Talleyrand, was induced to 
give his aid; and it was, in fact, at 
his house in Paris that the im- 
pending- plot was chiefly hatched. 
Much difficulty accompanied the hatch- 
ing-, withal; and it is recorded that 
once, when a palaver was going for- 
ward late at night, and the plotters 
heard an unexpected noise outside — 
caused, in reality, only by a band of 
revellers going home — N. bleW out the 
candles instantly, so nervous was he 
about the whole affair. But he had 
more supporters than he guessed, per- 
haps ; for the Ancients, on the whole, 
were hostile to the Directorate, and, 
if the same was scarcely true of 
the Council of Five Hundred, these 
were slowly being influenced by Ludien 
Bonaparte, at this time beginning to 
prove himself something of a per- 
suasive rhetoridian. 

The command of the army stationed 



BRUMAIRE 

in Paris being now given to N. by 
the Ancients, he presented himself 
before that body at the Tuileries; 
yet contrived, adroitly, to avoid taking- 
that oath of fidelity to the constitu- 
tion invariably demanded from an 
officer when receiving an appoint- 
ment of this sort. And in acting 
thus he was ably seconded by his 
brother, Lucien, who emphasized the 
fact that the Ancients had lately 
decreed the transference of the ses- 
sions to St. Cloud, in consonance 
with which measure, so he maintained, 
no oath could be taken save there. 
To St. Cloud, accordingly, Bonaparte 
went on the following day, 19 Bru- 
maire (10 Nov. 1799) ; but his attempts 
to address the Andients were compara- 
tively abortive, his speech suggesting 
the camp rather than the senate house ; 
and, having withdrawn in some con- 
fusion, he entered the hall of the Five 
Hundred, intending either to cajole or 
to intimidate them. Thereupon a tur- 
moil ensued, and cries of " Down with 
the tyrant" were levelled at N. by 
many of the younger deputies, while 
some of them stigmatized him as an 
outlaw. Siey^s, however, shouted 
loudly, "Since they outlaw you, they 
are outlaws themselves " ; while Bona- 
parte, who by this time had fully re- 
gained his presence of mind, and who 
remembered that there were troops in 
attendance, obeyed the natural impulse 
of a soldier, crying aloud, "To arms." 
His words were echoed by Ludien, who 
appealed to the military to free the 
council from the menaces of some 
deputies — ^men, he declared, who were 
not only armed with dag-g-ers, but were 
in the pay of England ; and this happy 
reference to daggers and to English 
gold saved the situation. For now 
Murat and Leclerc, tog^ether with 
other generals, took up the cry on 
behalf of N., the common soldiers 
themselves speedily following suit ; 
and then, drums sounding an advance 
and troops pouring- into the hall, the 
legislators were driven out pell-mell, 
their cries of "Vive la r^publique" 
notwithstanding. 

In this curious way, then, was 
brought about the collapse of the 
Directorate, in this curious way Bona- 
parte sowed the first seeds of that irule 



82 



BRUNE 

destined to lead the French for a wihile 
to g^littering- heig^hts of glory ; and; it 
may well be recalled that, in triumph- 
ing- thus, he fulfilled literally a pro- 
phecy made a few years before by 
Burke. " The liberty whdch France has 
now gfained," said that eloquent writer 
at the time of the Revolution, " will fall 
a victim to the first g^reat soldier who 
contrives to draw the eyes of all 
Frenchmen upon himself." 

Brune, Guillaume Marie Anne 
(1763-1815); — French marshal; was 
born at Brives-la-Gaillarde in the de- 
partment of Corr^ze, where his father 
was an advocate. He went to Paris 
before the Revolution with the avowed 
object of studying- law, and whilst at 
the capital engag-ed in political journal- 
ism and became the friend of Danton. 
In 1793 he emerg-ed from civil life to 
take a hig-h command in the army, 
and as general of brigade he took part 
in the fighting- of 13 Vend^miaire. 
In 1796 he accompanied N. to Italy, 
where he was promoted general of 
division. Two years later he com- 
manded the French Army which occu- 
pied Switzerland, and in the following 
year was dispatched to Holland in the 
chief command. He defended Amster- 
dam against an Anglo-Russian expedi- 
tion under the Duke of York, which he 
defeated and compelled to quit the 
country. He saw further service in La 
Vendue and in Italy, and when N. 
assumed the imperial title in 1804 he 
was made a marshal. In 1807 he was 
given the command in north Germany, 
and subsequently doubts arose as to his 
trustworthiness. There is, however, 
absolutely no proof that these were 
justified. During the Waterloo cam- 
paign he was recalled to military ser- 
vice, and as commander of the army of 
the Var defended the south of France 
against the Austrians. He was as- 
sassinated by a royalist during the 
White Terror at Avignon on 2 Aug. 
1815. 

Buonaparte, Carlo Maria (1746- 
1785).— The father of N. ; was born at 
Ajaccio on 27 March 1746, the son of 
Giuseppe Buonaparte and his wife 
Marie Saveria, n^e Paravicini. The 
only other child of the family was a 
girl Gertruda, born five years pre- 
viously, therefore the birth of a son 



BUONAPARTE 

was a longed-for event ; otherwise, 
that branch of the Buonapartes, 
descendants of the Carlo Maria, who, 
in 1657 married Virginia Odone, would 
become extinct. The young Carlo 
thus became the heir, not only of his 
father, but of his great-great-grand- 
father Carlo Maria ; he was his name- 
sake and only male descendant. 
Owing to this importance he was 
petted and spoiled from the first, and 
the indulgence with which he was 
reared was accountable for many of 
the traits of later years. In 1763 his 
father died, and Carlo became the 
ward of his uncle Lucien Buonaparte, 
Archdeacon of Ajaccio. At this time 
the young Buonaparte was attending a 
Jesuit college in that town, and by his 
instructors was looked upon as a 
brilliant pupil. By now he had grown 
into a handsome youth, tall, elegant, 
and manly, with the charm of a frank 
and open manner. His features were 
regular ; his eyes grey or grey-blue, 
eyes which his son N. inherited, but 
added thereto that remarkable pene- 
trating quality of his own. He was 
gifted with an intelligence beyond the 
common, whilst his education had been 
of a more thorough and careful 
description than was then usual in 
Corsica. His French, for instance, 
was fluent and correct, a rare accom- 
plishment amongst his countrymen ; he 
wrote graceful Italian verses, was an 
enthusiastic lover of belles lettres, and 
had adopted Voltairism. Finally, he 
was ambitious, though this did not 
prevent him making a love-match, 
when, on 2 June 1764, aged only 
eighteen, he married the beautiful 
Letizia Ramolino, a bride of fourteen. 
Her family was of patrician descent, if 
not definitely noble, and Letizia, the 
only surviving child of her father, in- 
herited the Ramolino property. 

Shortly after their marriage French 
troops. In accordance with the treaty 
of Compl^gne (Aug. 1764), occupied 
the coast towns of Corsica, amongst 
them Ajaccio; and Carlo, an ardent 
patriot and follower of Paoli, had 
thereupon removed to Corte, Paoli 's 
capital and the centre of the govern- 
ment. Here he was received with ex- 
treme kindness, at first as the repre- 
sentative of an influential lowland 



83 



BUONAPARTE 

family, but after because of his per- 
sonal charm. According to one 
account, the kindness went so far as 
to include a post of emolument and 
honour as Paoli's private secretary. 
A new university had been inaugurated 
(Jan. 1765) at Corte, and there Carlo 
Buonaparte, continuing his education 
after marriage, took the courses of 
Ethics and Law. 

At Corte there gradually gathered 
about Paoli all the ardent enthusiasts 
and patriots of Corsica; but amongst 
them, it is said, the youthful Carlo was 
first favourite, whilst a tradition, 
treasured by the Buonapartes, would 
have it that he was named by Paoli as 
his successor. 

At the Battle of Borgo (Oct. 1768), 
when the Corsioans inflicted a severe 
defeat upon the French, Carlo' Buona- 
parte acted as Paoli's aide-de-camp. 
An armistice followed and he returned 
to Ajaccio for the winter with Letizia, 
who had accompanied him, and their 
son Joseph, born Jan. 1768. It is not 
known for certain whether he was pre- 
sent at the famous and decisive en- 
gagement of Ponte Nuovo (8 May 
1769), but it is highly probable, for he 
is afterwards to be found, again with 
his wife beside him, joining a little 
company of patriots who found a wild 
and desolate refuge on Monte Rotondo. 
On 13 June Paoli, with some three hun- 
dred and fifty followers, left Corsica on 
two English vessels. Carloi Buonaparte 
was not among that devoted company, 
and the same month saw hiimi at Corte 
as a representative of the Monte 
Rotondo refugees, tendering their sub- 
mission together with his own and 
swearing fealty to Louis XV. before 
the French representative, the Marquis 
de Vaux, This change of front on his 
part evoked the bitterest censure from 
the Paolist party, whilst N. himself 
throughout his boyhood, always an 
eager listener to the tale of Paoli and 
the struggle for Corsican liberty, also 
nursed a strong resentment against 
this action of his father, though after- 
wards in the Souper de Beaucaire, 
written at a crisis in his own fortunes, 
he defends and shows the necessity for 
such action as this. But it is only fair 
to remember the difficulties surround- 
ing- the elder Buonaparte at this time. 



BUONAPARTE 

His cause was defeated ; after the 
disaster of Ponte Nuovo it was hope- 
less to attempt to raise the remaining 
peasantry, while, if a last stand and 
forlorn hope were to have been 
attempted, then Carlo might well have 
complained of the desertion of Paoli 
and his company. Again the little 
band of refugees would be in dire 
straits for the merest necessities in 
such a desolate spot; his son Joseph 
was but a iDaby ; his wife w^as far ad- 
vanced in pregnancy. In such circum- 
stances it is not wonderful that he 
bowed to the inevitable, recognising it 
as such, and saw the advantages of 
joining the winning side. The family 
now returned to Ajaccio, where on 
15 Aug. 1769 their son N. was born. . 

Carlo had determined to take his 
degree at Pisa in accordance with the 
tradition of his family, and in Nov. 
1769 he was made a doctor of laws by 
that university. The question of 
finance was an important one in the 
Buonaparte household, and was to be 
more so as the years went on and the 
young family increased. Buonaparte, 
by reason of his upbringing, was in 
his youth extravagant and careless of 
money, but this was gradually 
corrected, or, at least, held in check, 
both by necessity and his thrifty wife. 
As yet, however, neither she nor cir- 
cumstance had quite controlled this 
trait of his, and, obeyine his love of 
display and good-fellowship, he gave 
a banquet to celebrate the taking of 
his degree, on which he spent a year's 
income or more. A similar instance 
of extravagance occurred later when a 
ridiculously large sum was spent on 
his Court dress when he went to Ver- 
sailles to be presented to Louis XVI, 

Already the question of ways and 
means had become of pressing im- 
portance, for Carlo's inherlitance had 
been a shrunken one. The cause of 
this was a long and weary lawsuit 
that had been carried on by his father, 
Joseph, thus wasting much of his for- 
tune thereby. This litigation concerned 
the recovering of lands, his by right, 
but then held by the Jesuits. Briefly 
the case was as follows. By an entail 
in trust of a great-great-grandfather 
important lands, the estate at Milelli 
and the Maison Badine, were entailed 



84 



BUONAPARTE 

in the male line of the Odone family, 
and in default of a regfular descent the 
property was vested in the female line. 
By this right the estate should, when 
the maternal uncle of Carlo died child- 
less, have reverted to his mother. But 
the uncle had made a will bequeathing- 
his property to the Jesuits, who im- 
mediately took possession, and by this 
and other legal trickeries maintained 
their right of ownership. Buonaparte 
evidently looked upon the continuance 
of this lawsuit as a filial duty, and 
cheerfully settled down to pursue the 
same course as his father had done 
before him. But his estates, being 
heavily mortgaged, yielded only a 
meagre income, and the family was 
virtually dep>endent upon Letizia's 
patrimony. 

To one in these straits, almost the 
only possible means of re-establiishing 
the fallen fortunes seemed to be by 
using all the influence available. Some 
business ventures entered upon had 
turned out disastrously, and his neces- 
sities now forced him into that un- 
wearying scheming and place-hunting 
whidh has brought upon his name some 
contempt and reproach. With the in- 
born instinct for intrigue so strong 
iin the Corsican, he set himself to use 
what influence he already possessed 
and to gain more. The French 
commander-in-chief, General Marbeuf 
(q.v.) became his friend, interesting 
himself on Buonaparte's behalf and 
his family's. For one thing, Carlo 
now sought to prove beyond all doubt 
the nobility of the Buonapartes, largely 
in order to benefit to the full under the 
French rule. The French conquest had 
brought in its train the influence of the 
ancien regime, with its sharp division 
of the three classes of society : nobility, 
clergy, and third estate. Of this the 
Corsican families began to feel the 
influence. An edict (April 1770/) of 
Louis XV. admitted into the French 
nobility all Corsicans who could 
prove their possession of the condi- 
tion of "noble" for two hundred 
years. Needless to say, the Paolist 
sympathisers made no effort to avail 
themselves of this; the adherents of 
France alone seeking to enter the 
ranks of the French aristocracy. 
Amongst these families there was now 



BUONAPARTE 

much questioning and searching for 
family papers and pedigrees. Already 
the claim to nobility had been put 
forward by Carlo; for in the Libro 
di Dottorati of Pisa ihe had been de- 
scribed as II Signor Carlo del Qin 
Giuseppe Buonaparte, Not. Patrizio 
Fiorentino, Saminiatense, e di Ajaccio. 
This was consequent upon the obtain- 
ing from the Archbishop of Pisa letters 
patent authorising him to use the title 
of Noble and Patrician, this being 
gained by means of the document 
which, Giuseppe, Carlo's father had re- 
ceived from the Tuscan Buonapartes 
admitting consanguinity. Carlo's next 
step, with Louis's edict in view, was 
to procure a certificate signed by mem- 
bers of notable families of Ajaccio — the 
names of Ornano, Ramolino, Benielli, 
Pontano, Baciocchi, being amongst the 
signatories — declaring that the family 
of Buonaparte, then represented by 
Signore Lucien (the archdeacon) and 
Carlo, had ever been regarded as one 
of the ancient and noble families of 
the province. By virtue of this Lucien 
and Carlo obtained from the Conseil 
Superieur (13 Sept. 1771) a declara- 
tion that the Buonaparte family had 
been proved tO' be noble, its nobility 
extending over more than two hundred 
years. 

His next step was to secure some 
official pos^ition. by means of his 
political standing. The States-General 
of Corsica met on i May, 1772, Carlo 
taking his place among the nobles, 
also becoming a candidate for election 
as one of the Twelve Nobles, the chief 
Corsican functionaries of the island. 
All was not peace in the camp of the 
French ; dissensions had arisen between 
Marbeuf and Narbonne, his second in 
command ; dissensions serious enough, 
with their attendant intrigue and wire- 
pulling at Paris ; but Carlo, with his 
native adroitness, sided with Marbeuf, 
the chief in power, and so won his 
election ; though now, as later, he so 
managed affairs as not to offend the 
other party. As one of the Twelve 
Nobles he received a yearly salary of 
300 livres, whilst^ a further appoint- 
ment, that of assessor to the court 
of Ajaccio, brought him 900 livres 
annually. Private practice seems also 
to have been permitted him, though 



8S 



BUONAPARTE 

holding an official position, an ano- 
malous condition of affairs, as is 
shown by the complaint of a rival 
lawyer that Buonaparte had acted for 
a client in a case which he also decided 
as assessor. 

The free education of the children 
of indigent nobles as wards of the 
King and at the expense of the State 
was extended (March 1776) to the 
Corsican nobility. Of this Carlo de- 
cided to take advantage, and he 
accordingly obtained from his friends, 
St^phanophi, Folacci, Ornano, and 
Ponte, citizens of Ajaccio, a declara- 
tion that, though a noble, he was poor 
and unable to provide an education for 
his children suitable to their birth and 
position. Marbeuf, out of friendship 
but also in return for political support, 
seconded Buonaparte's) application for 
the King's bounty, and wrote to the 
Minister of War about the two eldest 
sons. At this juncture the estates of 
Corsica elected three members to form 
a deputation to the King. Buonaparte 
was chosen to represent the nobility, 
Monseigneur Santini the clergy, and 
Casabianca the third estate. Of the 
three. Carlo was by far the most 
polished and best educated, besides 
which his command of the French 
language gave him an additional ad- 
vantage, with the consequence that at 
Versailles he was leader and spokes- 
man. Besides accomplishing the object 
of the deputation he was able to render 
service to Marbeuf by delivering the 
coup de grdce to his rival Narbonne's 
pretensions, though he, Carlo, had but 
a little while before solicited his patron- 
age. He now returned to Ajaccio, the 
personal spoil of the mission being 
2,000 livres for travelling expenses, 
besides the concession of three planta- 
tions of mulberries which the State 
had decided to establish in Corsica, 
payment to be made after planting. 

On 19 July, 1778, came the news 
that the application for free education 
as a king's ward had at last been 
granted; the younger boy, N., being 
destined for a military career. On 
2 Sept. 1778 the fourth son was born, 
and later in the month was baptized 
with the royal name of Louis, his 
godparents being "General Marbeuf, 
Governor of Ajaccio, and Madame 



BUONAPARTE 

Boucheporn, wife of the Royal Com- 
missioner." Marbeuf was by now a 
close friend of the family, staying at 
the Buonaparte house when in Ajaccio ; 
and jealous rivals and political foes 
were not slow in pointing out that 
Marbeuf s name was also Louis, and 
making unfounded accusations as to 
the paternity of the child. When, 
years afterwards, the enemies of N. 
set out on their campaign of black- 
ening the whole Buonaparte family 
this aspersion was not forgotten, but 
noi shadow of a stain ever rested on the 
fair fame of Carlo's wife. 

Another Corsican deputation to 
Paris was necessary at this time in 
order to confer on the question of the 
regulation of imposts, for Necker was 
then making his attempts at financial 
reform and retrenchment. Buonaparte 
was again chosen as deputy, and this 
time he set out accompanied by his two 
sons and also Joseph Fesch (q.v.) 
destined for the seminary at Aix. They 
started on 12 Dec. 1778, and on New 
Year's Day 1779 Joseph and N. en- 
tered the school at Autun. The elder 
boy, intended for the priesthood, was 
there at his father's expense, his edu- 
cation to cost six hundred francs a 
year; the younger N., nine and a half 
years old, to proceed later to Brienne 
as king's ward. At Versailles things 
went smoothly for Carlo, except in one 
thing. He made further applications 
on his own behalf ; the first for a 
supplement from, the royal purse to 
augment his meagre pay as deputy, 
and the second a plea for the settle- 
ment of his claims to the ancestral 
estates. The first was granted, the 
second was disregarded. 

In June 1782 Carlo again visited 
France, this time with Letizia, when 
they visited N. at Brienne, and Joseph 
at Autun. 

By means of further supplications 
preferred with untiring persistency, 
and aided by the never-failing Mar- 
beuf, the poor Corsican noble had 
obtained further favours, this time for 
Lucien and Elisa, so that when in 
June 1784 he again visited Brienne he 
was accompanied by his daughter, 
destined for St. Cyr, and by Lucien, 
who, after a year at Autun, was to 
enter at Brienne as pensionnaire, wait- 



86 



BUONAPARTE 

ing to step into N.'s shoes as hoursier; 
two brothers as royal pupils at the 
same time not being- permissible. 
When in Paris, not unmindful of his 
son Joseph's wishes for a military 
rather than an ecclesiastiGal career, the 
indefatigable father set about obtain- 
ing the desired change, and wrote to 
the Minister of War stating his re- 
quest, and ending with details of his 
ever-pressing- poverty, Ms larg-e family, 
and the expected birth of another child. 
The plea as regards Joseph was 
granted with the proviso that the boy 
would have to go to the Artillery 
School at Metz and pass an examina- 
tion in mathematics. Always depen- 
dent, to a certain extent upon his 
wife's judgment, Carlo determined to 
take Joseph home before the final de- 
cision. The disease, which was finally 
to cause his death, cancer of the 
stomach, was by now causing Buona- 
parte acute suffering, and taking the 
opportunity while in Paris, he con- 
sulted De la Sonde, Marie Antoinette's 
physician, who benefited him tem- 
porarily and further advised him to 
take the waters at Orezza in Corsica. 
In view of this he returned to Ajaccio 
immediately, visiting- Joseph at Autun, 
but with noi time for Brienne, much to 
N.'s grrief, ever a true Corsican in his 
love for his family. 

On his return, though still suffering 
agonies. Carlo yet thought some relief 
had been obtained. That weariful law- 
suit still haunted him, and feeling that 
legal methods were of no avail, he 
determined on another journey of 
solicitation to Versailles, to settle the 
question once for all ; also De la Sonde 
could again be consulted and further 
relief secured. He embarked at 
Ajaccio accompanied by Joseph, now 
on hisi way to Metz. It proved a 
terrible journey ; a violent storm 
forcing the vessel to put in at Calvi, 
while further rough sailing before they 
reached the French coast aggravated 
the condition of the invalid and caused 
a relapse. On landing the father and 
son went to Aix, where Fesch still 
was, and thence to Montpellier to con- 
sult the famous specialists there. All 
was in vain, and after some weeks of 
agony Carlo Buonaparte died at the 
residence of Mme. Permon at Mont- 



BUONAPARTE 

pellier on 24 Feb. 1785, not quite 
thirty-nine years of age. 

An autopsy was perfomed upon the 
body and cancer of the stomach certi- 
fied. The remains were buried at 
Montpellier, but years afterwards were 
transferred by Louis Bonaparte to St. 
Leu. 

Buonaparte, Lucciano (1711- 
91). — Archdeacon of Ajaccio; great- 
uncle of N. By his ecclesiastical rank 
he was one of the principal dignitaries 
of the island. His personal character 
was such that the peasants volun- 
tarily submitted their disputes to his 
judgment. He was much revered and 
exerted considerable authority in the 
district. 

On the death of his brother 
Giuseppe in 1763 Lucciano had be- 
come the guardian of his nephew, 
Carlo Buonaparte (q-'v.), the father of 
N. As head of the family from 1763 to 
1 791 his prudence and judgment were 
of great value, and after the death 
of Carlo (1785) he became patron 
and protector of his children, and 
helped the young widowi in all possible 
ways. He always lived in the Buona- 
parte house at Ajaccio and was a 
familiar figure to the young N., who 
learned from him his catechism and 
Bible history. This same nephew, 
when an Emperor in exile, " spoke fre- 
quently of his old uncle, who had been 
a second father to him." 

In later years he became bedridden. 
When he was dying, pious as he had 
always been, he grew annoyed with 
Fesch (q.v.), who, a priest by that 
time, "ran to him in his stole and 
surplice to assist him in his last 
moments." The Archdeacon bade him 
desist, saying that the last few 
minutes he had to live should be given 
to his family. Of the rest of the 
scene two versions are left to us, those 
of N. and Joseph. At St. Helena the 
Emperor told Antommarchi (q.v.) and 
also Las Cases (q.v.) that his uncle 
had declared that while Joseph was 
the eldest, N. was the chief. This, on 
the face of it, seems highly improb- 
able, for in Corsica the eldest son's 
precedence is inviolable. Joseph's 
version, given in his Memoirs, is as 
follows. The Archdeacon said : 

"Letizia, cease weeping". I die con- 



87 



BUONAPARTE 

tent since I see you surrounded by 
your children. My existence is no 
longer necessary for them. Joseph is 
now at the head of the .administration 
of the country, so he must be com- 
petent to manage the family. Thou, 
Napoleon, will be a man of import- 
ance." He died on 15 Oct 1791. 
This event occurred during N.'s visit 
to Corsica. The Archdeacon had 
always lived frugally and had there- 
fore saved a not inconsiderable for- 
tune, which he left to Letizia Buona- 
parte and her children. 

Buonaparte, Maria Letizia, nee 
Ramolino (1750-1836).— The mother of 
N. ; was born at Ajaccio on 24 Aug. 
1750, the daughter of Giovanni Ramo- 
lino- and his wife Angela Maria Pietra 
Santa. The Ramolino* family were of 
Florentine origin, like the Buona- 
partes, their respective traditions being 
similar in many ways. With the 
Pietra Santa strain, however, Letizia 
had inheiiited the blood and habits of a 
race bred in the most primitive and 
savage region of Corsica (q.v.), a part 
where an almost tribal condition of 
life prevailed, where the vendetta was 
a commonplace. Education was of 
minor importance, culture in this sense 
being an unknown quantity, but the 
characters produced by such environ- 
ment were of undeniable vigour and 
quality, distinguished by a frugal habit 
of life, inured to hardship. Mentally 
they possessed a quickness of judg- 
ment and a fertility of resource. Un- 
doubtedly the darker side was also pre- 
sent — ^violent and passionate natures, 
vindictive tempers, unrelenting hate. 
In Letizia the passionate nature was 
present, but with an iron will tO' hold 
it in leash, whilst the desirable quali- 
ties of her heritage were intensified. 

Giovanni Ramolino died when his 
daughter was but five years of age, 
therefore her training was wholly in 
the hands of her mother, a woman of 
dominant and Spartan temper. The 
child's education, however, was of the 
most meagre description, though a 
generous share of shrewd common 
sense and mother-wit, combined with a 
mind essentially reflective and refined, 
more than made good the deficiency. 

It has been said that the Ramolino 
and Pietra Santa families at first 



BUONAPARTE 

objected to the suit of Carlo Buona- 
parte on the grounds of his Paolist 
sympathies, they having remained, so 
tar, true to the Genoese cause. 
Finally, however, they gave way in the 
matter, and in time also joined the 
Corsican party. Hence some would 
have it that Paoli, with Archdeacon 
Lucciano, arranged the match so as to 
secure the adherence of the families 
represented by Letizia. Be that as it 
may, all the evidence points to the 
fact that it was a love-match, and the 
handsome couple were married at the 
cathedral of Ajaccio on 2 June 1764. 

Married at the early age of fourteen 
Letizia even then possessed a develop- 
ment of will and character far beyond 
her years, a character of the true 
heroic mould. Physically she was of 
striking beauty and famous for her 
good looks. She was slender in figure 
and somewhat below the middle height, 
but with a dignity of mien that made 
her seem much taller. Her features 
were of the classic type, with straight 
nose, refined and expressive mouth, 
her eyes the deepest brown, almost 
black, and a finely shaped head 
crowned with chestnut hair. Her 
complexion was a dazzling white — that 
whiteness peculiar to Corsica, differ- 
ing from the usual olive tint of the 
South — with rose-flushed cheeks. In 
her youth, as in later years, the ex- 
pression was serious, almost severe. 
Such was the mother of N., described 
lovingly and often by N. and those 
who knew her. 

Her first two children — a Napoleon 
and Maria Anna — born respectively in 
1765 and 1767, both died in infancy, 
but on 7 Jan. 1768, at Corte, Paoli's 
capital, a son Joseph was born, fortu- 
nately a more robust infant than the 
others, for an heir had been ardently 
desired ; otherwise this branch of the 
Buonapartes was threatened with 
extinction. 

During the French war, Letizia, 
true to race, accompanied her husband 
in the various campaigns, almost on to 
the battlefields. In the spring of 1769 
was fought the decisive battle of Ponte 
Nuovo [see Paoli), and Letizia, with 
her husband and others, retreated to 
the wilds of Monte Rotondo, whither 
the refugees fled for safety. On 



I 



88 



BUONAPARTE 

taking the oath of submission, how- 
ever, they were permitted to return to 
their homes. 

At their home in Ajaccio N. was 
born on 15 Aug. 1769. This mo- 
mentous event has been variously 
described. An account by Letizia 
herself is preserved in the Memoirs 
of the Duchesse d'Abrantes, wiho tells 
how her mother. Mime. Permon and 
Mme. Buonaparte, two old friends, 
were sitting- talking on the evening 
of 10 Nov. 1799 that spring-time of 
N.'s g'reatness. Naturally iit was of 
him they spoke, and Letizia' s memoiry 
went back to the time of his birth. 
She told how she was "at Mass on 
the day of the fete of Notre Dame 
of August, and while there was over- 
taken by the pains of childbirth, and 
she had scarcely reached home when 
she was delivered of N." A pic- 
turesque tradition exists to the effect 
that the first covering of mother and 
child was an andient piece of tapestry 
representing the heroes of the Iliad. 

In the straitened dircumstances in 
which the young couple found them^ 
selves Letizia's instincts of thrift stood 
them in good stead. By marvels, of 
economy she contrived to feed and 
clothe her household with no outward 
signs of strain or poverty. Her hus- 
band was thus enabled to uphold his 
official dignities in a suitable fashion, 
and the hospitality of their home at 
Ajaccio became known for its lavish 
generosity, for after the French, 
occupation they entertained frequently. 
General Marbeuf, the governoir of 
Corsica, and in time their devoted 
friend, being, among others, a con- 
stant guest. It is clear that thrift was 
an absolute necessity if any standing at 
all was to be maintained when it is 
realized how quickly the young family 
increased. After N., wihoi was the 
fourth child, came eight others. Two 
daughters followed him in 1771 and 
i773> both named Maria Anna after 
the first daughter and, like her, both 
dying in infancy. Then came Luc- 
ciano (Lucien) in 1775 ; next, another 
Maria Anna (Elisa) in 1777; Luig^i 
(Louisi) in 1778; Paula Maria (Pauline) 
in 1780; Maria Nunziata (Caroline) in 
1782; and Girolamo (Jerome) in 1784. 

In 1782 Letizia accompanied her 



BUONAPARTE 

husband to France, visiting N. at 
Brienne and Joseph at Autun. 

After the death of her husband in 
1785 affairs were in a troubled con- 
dition, and means still more limited. 
Archdeacon Lucciano was protector 
and adviser, doing all in his power 
tO' assist, but Letizia herself was a 
tO'wer of strength. There is evidence 
that she did the actual work of the 
household, helped only by Mammuccia 
Caterina. A letter of hers to Joseph 
at Pisa betrays the condition of affairs. 
Yet Letizia was patient, uncomplain- 
ing, and the family undeniably happy. 

In tihe Corsican rising of 1793 the 
Buonapartes, as leaders of the French 
party, were in great danger. N., 
anxious for the safety of his family 
and hoping to be able to get them 
away froim the island, had suggested 
a plan for the taking of Ajaccio. 
This was agreed upon by the com- 
missioners, but before this expedition 
could arrive Letizia received the news 
that the Paolists in considerable num- 
bers were close at hand. At first she 
refused to fly, desiring to defend her 
house to the last, dying in the task 
if necessary. Eventually, however, 
she was persuaded against this, con- 
senting to escape to their country 
home of Milelli, for her children's 
sake. The desolate group left the 
house in the dead of the night, 
Letizia, Ahb6 Fesch, Louis, Maria 
Anna, Pauline, Caroline, and Jerome ; 
and only just in time, for soon after 
it was surrounded and pillaged. Not 
sufficiently secure there, they after- 
wards fled to the Capitello tower on 
the further side of the bay, Letizia 
and her children scrambling over rocks 
and through thickets, when N., pass- 
ing with the French expedition, found 
them. Destitute and homeless, he 
took them to Calvi, whence on 1 1 June 
1793 they embarked for Toulon, thus 
joining Lucien. So poor were they 
that Letizia perforce found cheaper 
lodgings at La Valette, a village 
near by. After a while they pro- 
ceeded to Marseilles, where, as a 
Corsican refugee, she received a small 
pension from the government, a sum 
which was welcome, for evidently her 
straits were such that gloomy pictures 
had haunted her of being driven to 



89 



BUONAPARTE 

appeal, like a pauper, for their daily 
bread to some charity in Marseilles. 

But the tide of misfortune had now 
passed. After Vendemiaire N. became 
the possessor of means, and at once 
sent his mother a considerable sum. 
In S^gur's Histoires et Mdmoires is 
a letter written by N. to Joseph in 
which he says : "I have sent the 
family 50,000 to 60,000 livres in sil- 
ver, paper money and bills. There- 
fore, distress yourself no further. ..." 
The miserable lodg"ing-s were discarded 
and more suitable ones obtained. The 
Buonaparte home became quite the 
centre of local society and a rendez- 
vous for the many Corsicans passing- 
through Marseilles. Here Joseph 
married the well-dowered Julie Clary, 
and Maria Anna, now Elisa, the 
Corsican, Pasquale Baciocchi. 

When N. became First Consul, or 
shortly after, Mme. Buonaparte went 
to Paris with her children, but lived 
in the most retired manner. In 
Lucien's disputes with N. she took 
the former's part simply because he 
was the weaker. Hence she was not 
at the coronation (1804), being with 
Lucien elsewhere, but N., when David 
was painting the picture of the cere- 
mony, ordered him to put in the por- 
trait of Letizia as present. It was 
not until her son became Emperor 
that she could be said to lead a 
social life ; and, while attaining a 
certain measure of success, she never 
aspired to political power. Through 
it all "Madame Mfere," as she was 
then known, continued to speak in 
the Corsican dialect (scorning any 
attempt to dissuade her from it) and 
to save money. She had now an 
income of 1,000,000 francs settled 
upon her, with the Comte Cass6 
Bruzac as chamberlain and M. de 
Cazes as secretary. She was also 
made Protectrice Gdnerale of all the 
charitable institutions of France. 

His mother's parsimonious habits 
frequently aroused the Emperor's dis- 
pleasure. Mme. Mare's dress was not 
sufficiently elegant ; accordingly Elisa 
was commissioned by N. to make good 
tihe deficiencies in her wardrobe. For 
this striking sense of thrift many 
reasons could be adduced. First 
comes the pathetic fact that necessity 



BUONAPARTE 

had long demanded it, and in time 
it had become an instinct. Again, it 
was largely caused by her profound 
(^strust of all this sudden greatness ; 
she foreboded the end, and seemed to 
discern in N. signs of exhaustion even 
when at the summit of his power. In 
view of that raiiny day the habit of 
saving was therefore continued. She 
lectured her children, Pauline espe- 
cially, upon their extravagance, and 
on Lucien quitting France in 1804 she 
took possession of his splendid home, 
and under her rule a system of the 
most rigid economy succeeded her 
son's princely regime. 

Her kindness was unfailing to> those 
in trouble, and for them she would, 
if necessary, apply to N,, though con- 
trary to her rule. When she took part 
in public affalirs her sympathies were 
with the weaker side. Upon the 
arrest of the Due d'Enghien she went 
to the Tuileries and exerted all her 
influence on his behalf. On hearing 
of the execution of this prince she 
bitterly reproached her son, saying it 
was the deed of a criminal, the stain 
of which could never be wiped out, 
and that he had weakly followed the 
advice of his enemies, only too eager 
to bring obloquy upon his name. N.'s 
treatment of the Pope displeased her 
greatly. 

When all her sonls save one had 
become kings her applications to them 
on behalf of Lucien were unceasing. 
On being told one day by N. that she 
loved Ludien more than the rest of her 
children, she replied : "The child of 
whom I am the most fond is always 
the one that happens to be the most 
unfortunate." This was amply proved 
later. She, who toi a certain extent 
had held aloof from the Emperor in 
his hour of glory, placed her fortune 
at the service of the exile wihen the 
days of Elba dawned, while she never 
forgave Caroline or Murat for their 
treachery to N. 

When N. was sent to Elba Mme. 
M^re followed him and took up her 
residence on the island. A letter of 
N.'s is extant which shows his care 
and thought for Eer comfort . on 
hearing of this determination. No 
doubt exists as to the large part, 
both financial and practScal, which 



90 



BUONAPARTE 

was Letizia's share in N.'s escape 
from Elba. So again after Water- 
loo she immediately preferred him all 
she possessed iin the world to assist 
him in re-establishing- his ascendancy, 
saying" that all was not yet lost. 

In Oct. 1818 she addressed an un- 
availing- appeal to the Allied sovereig'ns 
on behalf of her son. 

After the final downfall she had re- 
tired to Rome, wihere she was treated 
with kindness and consideration by 
Pope Pius VII., who' bore no g-rudg-e 
for N.'s past treatment of him. He 
even exerted his influence in g^uard- 
ing- Letizia froni the machinations of 
the Grand AlHance. By the Treaty 
of Paris (181 4) she had been per- 
mitted to retain her title, and an 
annuity of 200,000 francs, secured on 
the great book of France, was settled 
upon her. She lived a very secluded 
life, taking part in charitable works, 
but her grief and sorrow were plain 
to all who saw her. Her beauty she 
retained almost to the last. Michelet 
has left a description of Mme. M6re 
at this period, and remarks that the 
Italian artists endowed her with a 
sublime beauty, something tragical, 
mysterious, unfathomable. 

The death of N. was a further 
blow, and her life became almost 
conventual. A serious fall in 1829 
crippled her, and later she was 
afflicted by partial blindness. She 
died on 2 Feb. 1836, nearly eighty- 
six years of age, outliving her famous 
son by fifteen years. 

Buonaparte, Maria Saveria (n^e 
Paravicini. — She married Giuseppe 
Buonaparte, the grandfather of N., on 
5 March 1741. She was an indulgent 
mother to Carlo, the longed-for son 
and heir, and to his children after him. 
She lived with the Buonapartes, a 
familiar fignre of N.'s childhood — the 
"Minana Saveria," to whom, in the 
letters home, he never failed to present 
his respects. She showed her devotion 
and thought for her grandchildren by 
hearing one Mass a day for each child 
from its birth ; this representing eight 
Masses a day. 

Buonaparte, The Casa. — The 
family house of the Buonapartes in 
Ajaccio (q.v.). It is situated at the 
corner of the Rue St. Charles and the 



BUONAPARTE 

Rue Letizia, was built in the early 
seventeenth century, and consists of a 
ground floor and three stories above. 
The third floor was an addition of a 
later date and the property of a branch 
of the Pozzo di Borgo family. At the 
time of N.'s advent the house was 
above the average in Ajaccio. On the 
first floor it has a fine gallery with six 
windows on to the Via del Pevero on 
one side, and opposite six glass doors 
open on to a terrace, which Carlo 
Buonaparte, the father of N., con- 
structed in 1774, at a cost of 600 
francs. This terrace was a favourite 
spot, and here N. during his holidays 
read and studied, erecting for the pur- 
pose a summer-house of planks of 
wood. A library, reception-room, 
dining-room, Letizia's and three other 
bedrooms at the far end of the 
gallery complete the first floor. The 
second consists of four rooms corre- 
sponding to those below in the front 
of the house. The one looking down 
on the terrace was that occupied by N. 
Letizia's bedroom on the first floor is 
usually shown as the room in which 
N. was born, but on the evidence of 
Letizia herself and that of N. it was 
the salotto, the reception-room, which 
witnessed his advent. In 1793, after 
the flight of the family, the house was 
burst intoi and sacked iDy the Paolists. 
Nasica writing in 1821-9 states that : 
"The house was given up to pillage. 
Even the doors and windows were torn 
from their hinges. The house would 
have been burned but for the fear of 
damaging the neighbouring houses, 
which belonged to the so-called 
Patriots." For this indemnity was 
claimed in 1798 by Letizia Buonaparte, 
and the document is preserved in the 
archives of Ajaccio. The statement 
relating to the house is as follows : 

"A house situated in the Rue Bona- 
parte, completely furnislhed, of four 
stories, with the ground floor (the 
Bonaparte house in the Rue St. 
Charles, formally Via Malerba, some- 
times called Rue Bonaparte) devastee 
. . . 16,000 francs." 

Letizia made other claims, amongst 
them one for the lo'ss of 1,000 books 
of her husband's library. In 1796 
Joseph returned to Ajaccio, and at N.'s 



91 



BUONAVITA 



CADOUDAL 



request had the house put in order and 
repaired. Later, N. wished to give it 
to his wet-nurse, Camilla Ilari (q.v.), 
but this was opposed by the family, and 
Andrea Ramolino, a cousin of Letizia, 
living- there at the time, refused to 
move. N, then made Ramolino give 
up his own house toi Camilla in ex- 
change for the Bonaparte house, to- 
gether with 20,000 francs. A further 
condition was that he was to pull down 
the Pietra Santa house and part of the 
Gentile house so that an open space 
should be made in front of the Casa 
Buonaparte, thus making the Place 
Letizia. In 1831 Andrea Ramolino 
died and bequeathed the house to his 
nephew Levie Ramolino. This owner 
was offered, and refused, large sums 
for it; C. A. Pozzo di Borgo (q-v.) in 
1833 offered ;^2o,ooo for it. The Due 
d 'Orleans also offered ;^8,ooo. In 
1843 Levie g^ave it to Joseph, and it 
descended to Princess Zenaide, his 
sole heiress, who sold it to Napo- 
leon III. for ;^2,ooo, with a further 
;^6oo for the furniture, which, how- 
ever, can hardly be the furnishing of 
N.'s time. The house is now the pro- 
perty of the Empress Eugenie. See 
Homes and Palaces of N. 

Buonavita, The Abb6.— Spiritual 
adviser to N. at St. Helena; had spent 
twenty-six years in Mexico. He had 
been chaplain to Mme. M^re at Elba, 
and went with her to Paris for 
the Hundred Days. After Waterloo 
he became chaplain to Pauline at 
Rome, and there he took an attack of 
apoplexy. On leaving St. Helena he 
reported himself to the Bonapartes at 
Rome. 

Burton, Dr. Francis.— One of the 
signatories to the report on the post- 
mortem of N. He had had some ex- 
perience in taking casts in plaster of 
Paris, and took a death-mask of N.'s 
face. He went to Jamestown for 
plaster, but could find none in any 
of the shops. Learning that the crude 
material, gypsum, was to be found in 
certain parts of the coast, he applied 
to the admiral, who allowed his boats 
to be used, and the gypsum was col- 
lected at night by torchlight. Antom- 
marchi considered the quality of the 
gypsum too poor, but Burton made 
the attempt and succeeded. He 



covered the face and head with the 
plaster and took off the mould in two 
pieces, the front and the back. It 
was taken some time between 10 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., but the body was not in 
a condition to permit of a second 
attempt. Burton left the mould in the 
death chamber and took the cast from 
it next day. Returning on the morn- 
ing of 9 May, the day of the funeral, 
he found that the front part had gone. 
It had, in fact, been stolen by Mme. 
Bertrand. He wrote to her and 
begged her to give it back, but she 
took no notice of the letter. He then 
wrote to Bertrand, who told him he 
had no right to the cast whatever, and 
that he had merely assistea Antom- 
marchi. When he arrived in London 
Burton attempted to regain the cast by 
legal means, but in this he was un- 
successful. The cast was kept by the 
Bertrands, and descended to Hortense, 
Mme. Thayer, from whom it went to 
Prince Victor Napoleon. See Death- 
mask. 

Busaco, Battle of.— A battle of the 
Peninsular War, foug-ht on 2y^ Sept. 
1810, between 60,000 French under 
Massena, and 50,000 British and 
Portuguese under WelHngton. After 
fierce fighting the French assault was 
repulsed, with a loss of about 5,000, 
including five generals, while the 
British lost about 1,300. 



Cadoudal, George (1771-1804).— 

Leader of the Chouans during the 
French Revolution and Consulate ; 
was born near Auray in 1771. 
On the outbreak of the Revolution 
he withstood the tide of democratic 
fervour and remained loyal to royal- 
ism and religion. A rising in the 
Morbihan was organized by him in 
1793 against the revolutionary gx>vern- 
ment, but this was speedily quelled. 
Next he joined the army of the 
Vendeans, and took part in the 
battles of Le Mans and of Savenay. 
Arrest and imprisonment awaited him 
on his return to the Morbihan, but 
he succeeded in escaping from Brest, 
only to begin the strugg-le anew. 
In 1800, however, Cadoudal, with 
other royalist leaders, was 'in Paris, 



93 



CAFFARELLI 

led there partly by the hope that in 
Bonaparte they mig"ht find the "long- 
expected restorer of monarchy." The 
First Consul, who admired the con- 
spirator for his skill, obstinacy and 
energy, granted an interview. 
Cadoudal's position was that "he 
was prepared, after a certain delay, 
and on condition that he should be 
paid for it, to give his support to 
the Government." But all the time 
fresh schemes were afoot, which 
Fouch^ ferreted out, and the papers 
of the royalists were seized. Cadoudal 
fled to England, together with Hyde 
de Neuville (q.v.). Indirectly he was 
concerned in the attempt made by 
St. Regent in the Rue St. Nicaise 
on the life of Bonaparte, after which 
England was again his refuge. In 
1803 came his final plot against the 
First Consul. He left London and 
" crossed the Channel on a cutter 
from the British Fleet." He was 
supplied with funds from the British 
Government for the organization of 
insurrection in the capital, to which 
he proceeded. Here he entered into 
communication with Lajolais, Piche- 
gru, Riviere and the Polignacs. For 
six months he eluded the police of 
Fouch^. Efforts were made to treat 
with Moreau, the leader of the re- 
publican party. Though he refused 
to associate himself with the royal- 
ists, he was compromised beyond 
retrieval when the plot was dis- 
covered in Jan. of 1804. Cadoudal 
was arrested in March, It was this 
conspiracy which led to the arrest 
of the Due d'Enghien. 

During his triial Cadoudal showed 
g"reat firmness and courage. With 
eigihteen of his companions he was 
sentenced to death, but by Joseph- 
ine's intervention those of the nobility 
implicated were reprieved and im- 
prisoned. Those of "meaner birth," 
together with Cadoudal, were shot on 
24 June 1804. Noting the trend of 
events politically throughout the time 
of his trial, he said in irony : "We 
have done more than we hoped to do ; 
we meant to give France a king, and 
we have given her an emperor. 

CafFarelli du Falffa, Louis Marie 
Joseph Maximilien (1756-99).— 
French general. This distinguished 



CALDIERO 

soldier was known almost universally 
in the France of his day as "Jambe 
de Bois," a name given him because 
early in his career he had one of his 
legs carried off by a cannon-ball, a 
wooden substitute being given him 
thereafter by the surgeons. Born in 
1 7156, he took part, in 1795, in the 
passage of the Rhine under Kl^ber, 
while he held an important command 
during N.'s Egyptian expedition; and 
when, at one time, it looked as though 
the French were likely to be stranded 
in the land of the) Pharaohs, it was a 
stock joke with the soldiers to say 
that Caifarelli was the most fortunate 
man among them, inasmuch as he 
always had one foot in Europe ! 
"Jambe de Bois" won particular 
distinction at the taking of Alex- 
andria, but during the assault on 
St. Jean d'Acre he had the misfor- 
tune to have one of his arms frac- 
tured, and the subsequent operation 
on the wounded limb proved fatal to 
the brave soldier. " Son tombeau," 
says one of hisi biographers, "a 6t6 
jusqu'a ce jour respect6 par les 
Arabes " ; while we must not fail to 
note that Caffarelii was a ripe scholar, 
besides being a gifted leader, and was 
specially admired and trusted by N. 
himself. 

Caldiero, Battle of (1).— A battle 
of N.'s Italian campaign, fought on 
12 Nov. 1796, between the French 
under Mass^na and the Austrians 
under Alvintzi. The Austrians had 
taken up a strong position on a 
line of hills, and their cannon and 
musketry were so effective that 
Mass^na was compelled to with- 
draw his troops into Verona with 
a loss of nearly 2,000 killed and 
wounded ; he lost besides a number 
of prisoners. 

Caldfero, Battle of (2).— Fought 
on 29 Oct. 1805, The French under 
Mass^na attacked the Austrians 
under the Archduke Charles in a 
strongly entrenched position on the 
rocky heights of Caldiero. After 
three days' hard fighting the French 
were repulsed, but the Archduke, 
hearing of the victories of N. in 
Germany, did not follow up his suc- 
cess, and, indeed, began to withdraw 
his army from Italy. 



93 



CALENDAR 

Calendar, Republican. — On 

22 Sept. 1792 the National Conven- 
tion of the French Republic intro- 
duced a revolutionary era to' celebrate 
the foundation of the new system of 
government. The year wsls divided 
into twelve months of thirty days 
each, with five lintercalary days at 
the end. These days were called 
Sansculotides, and were regarded as 
festivals whiich were dedicated to 
Virtue, Opinion, Genius, Labour and 
Rewards. The observance of Sunday 
was ignored, while every tenth day 
was treated as a public holiday. 
This extraordinary system remained 
in force until i Jan. 1806, when by 
the command of N. it was abolished 
and the Gregorian calendar resumed. 
According to the revolutionary system, 
the names of the months were as 
follows : 

Vend^miaire (Vintage), 22 Sept. to 

21 Oct. 
Brumaire (Foggy), 22 Oct. to 20 Nov. 
Frimaire (Sleety), 21 Nov. to 20 Dec. 
Nivose (Snowy), 21 Dec. to 19 Jan. 
Pluviose (Rainy), 20 Jan. to 18 Feb. 
Ventose (Windy), 19 Feb. to 20 

March. 
Germinal (Budding), 21 March to 

19 April. 
Floreal (Flowery), 20 April to 19 May. 
Prairial (Pasture), 20 May to 18 June. 
Messidor (Harvest), 19 June to 18 July. 
Thermidor (Heat), 19 July to 17 Aug. 
Fructidor (Fruit), 18 Aug. to 16 Sept. 

Cambacdrds, Jean Jacques 
Regis de (1753 - 1824). —Born at 
Montpellier on 18 Oct. 1753. He was 
descended from, a family belonging to 
the legal nobility, and was himself 
destined for the law, becoming a 
councillor in the court of finances and 
accounts of Toulouse. On the out- 
break of the Revolution in 1789 he 
espoused the democratic cause. He 
was chosen by the noblesse of the 
province to draw up the cahier, the 
statement of principles and griievances. 
Later he was elected as deputy for 
Montpellier to the States-General, but 
on some technical point the election 
was made void. In 1792, however, 
he sat as one of the deputies for 
the newly constituted department of 
Hdrault in the National Convention, 



CAMBACI^RES 

which in the Sept. of that year pro- 
claimed the French Republic. He did 
not seek any prominence in party 
matters, but devoted himself to the 
judiciary part of public affairs and 
to committee work. His attitude 
during the trial of Louis XVL laid 
him open to the charge of blowing 
hot and cold, a charge his colleagues 
did not fail to bring against him;. 
His position was caused by his views 
on the legality of the proceedings, but 
these again clashed with his republican 
creed. He doubted the right of the 
conventjion to resolve itself into a 
tribunal, saying: "You were chosen 
by the people as legislators, not 
judges," whilst he also demanded 
that the King should have facilities 
for his defence. Going with the 
stream, however, he voted the King 
guilty, but tried to temporize over 
the question of the penalty, proposing 
that its execution be postponed till 
after the cessation of hostilities, and 
that the sentence should first receive 
ratification by some legislative body. 
Yet this did not avail to save Cam- 
bac^rfes from the character of reg^icide 
amongst the royalists as it told against 
him with the republicans, for later it 
was the bar to his appointment as one 
of the five Directors after the coup 
d'Hat of Vendemiaire 1795. ^^ the 
beginning of 1793 he had become a 
member of the committee of General 
Defence, and again of its successor, 
that of Public Safety, where, in charge 
of foreign affairs, he successfully 
negotiated peace with Spain. As one 
of the Legislative Committee, Cam- 
bac^rfes drew up the Code of Civil 
Law in its first form, which later was 
to be the basis of the famous Code 
Napoleon. He had worked hard on 
behalf of the Girondins, fallen after 
the coup d'etat of May 1793, plead- 
ing for their restoration to the Con- 
vention. Though not chosen as a 
Director, for the reason above stated, 
that of not being a regicide, his fund 
of knowledge and powers of brilliant 
debate gave him a foremost place in 
the councils of the Five Hundred. As 
a Moderate he came into opposition to 
the Directors, and thereupon retired 
into private life, from which he was 
drawn, however, by the influence of 



94 



CAMBAC^RES 

Siey^s, and in July 1799 he became 
minister of justice. Cambac6r6s was 
certainly in the plot of overthrowing 
the Directory (Brumaire 1799), but his 
support of Siey^s and Bonaparte was 
characterized by the usual moderation, 
or, as some said, wiliness. 

It was Sieyfes' estimate of the gift 
of Cambacer^s and his influence, to- 
gether w'ith his immense legal know- 
ledge, that procured for him his 
appointment as Second Consul. From 
this time onward he was invaluable 
to N. In the words of an eminent 
authority : " Cambacer^s was a native 
of the south ; cautious, and subtle, he 
had been a member of the Convention, 
and was rightly regarded as an able 
lawyer. He justified the confidence 
which Bonaparte placed in him, and 
proved himself a skilful, cool-headed 
and sound adviser. If he did nothing 
to prevent Bonaparte from becoming 
a despot, if he even aided him to 
become one, he succeeded in some- 
times tempering the eccentridities and 
harshness of his master, at any rate 
Sn matters of detail." 

That Cambac6r^s played an im- 
portant part in the drafting of the 
Civil Code is unquestionable, but the 
"dry bones of the law " which he 
furnished were made to live by the 
genius of N. Again, to a great 
extent it was the skilful advice of 
this minister that gained for Bonaparte 
the consulship for life (1802). Yet 
Cambacer^s never hesitated to show 
his disapprobation of the conduct of 
certain events, such as the execution 
of the Due d'Enghien, the rupture 
with England (he, with Talleyrand, 
being for peace"), and, it is said, the 
proclamation of the Empire (19 May 
1804). But when the Senate went in 
a body to St. Cloud it was Cam- 
bac6rfes, Second Consul and President, 
who hailed N. by the title of " Imperial 
Majesty." Under the Empire he be- 
came arch-chancellor, with the presi- 
dentship of the Senate in perpetuity, 
and in 1808, already a prince of the 
Empire, he received the title of Duke 
of Parma. At this period he used all 
his influence against the intervention 
Sn Spanish affairs (1808) and the in- 
vasion of Russia (181 2), both of which 
proved disastrous. His actions after 



CAMBRONNE 

the campaign of 181 4 were adversely 
criticized by the followers of the 
Empire as disloyal and largely con- 
tributory to the further troubles that 
overtook N. Only with reluctance, it 
is stated, did he accept office during 
the Hundred Days. He was exiled 
as a regicide under the Restoration, 
and resided in the Netherlands, but 
in 1 81 8 a decree restored him to the 
rights and privileges of a French 
citizen. The last six years of his life 
were spent in retirement. He died 
in 1824, and was buried with military 
honours in the cemetery of P6re la 
Chaise. In private life Cambacer^s 
seems to have been remarkable as a 
gourmet, and his dinners were a 
feature not despised by N. as an aid 
to diplomacy and statecraft. Other- 
wise, being of a quiet and intensely 
reserved nature, his friends were few, 
and do not seem to have been inspired 
by any great devotion towards him. 

Cairibronne, Pierre Jacques, 
Baron de (1770 - 1842). — French 
general; was born at Nantes, and 
was a son of the middle class. He 
left home early in life, with a very 
scanty education, which probably 
accounted for his unpolished manner, 
and in 1790 began his military career, 
distinguishing himself in many cam- 
paigns, both revolutionary and Napo- 
leonic. He was given command of 
the Imperial Guard, who, to the 
number of 700, landed in Elba on 
26 May 1 814, and to whose coming 
N. had looked forward with so much 
eagerness, saying to the general on 
his arrival : "Cambronne, I have 
passed many bad hours while wait- 
ing for you, but at last we are united 
once more, and they are forgotten." 
He was made commandant of Porto- 
ferraio, the capital of Elba, by the 
Emperor, who placed in his care "all 
that is police and security." No one 
was allowed to land without first 
being examined by Cambronne, and 
this duty he fulfilled almost too 
zealously, making Portoferraio rather 
an unpleasant place for visitors. Cam- 
bronne without doubt aided N. in his 
escape from Elba — his part, it is said, 
being to requis^ition horses at Cannes. 
At Waterloo he commanded a division 
of the Old Guard, and greatly distin- 



95 



II 



CAMEO 

gnished himself by his gallant conduct. 
His two battalions were forced to re- 
treat for some distance, but takiing up 
a position in the valley they made a 
magnificent stand. Overwihelming 
numbers, however, at last bore them 
down, only 150 surviving, and Cam- 
bronne, himself wounded, surrendered 
toi the British. This incident is written 
in history, partly, perhaps, because of 
the famous phrase, " La Garde meurt 
et ne se rend pas," which was attri- 
buted to Cambronne on this occasion. 
Such a sentiment was indeed typical 
of the Old Guard, fiery, courageous, 
and of indomitable spirit as they were, 
and might well have been uttered by 
their commander, but it cannot be 
actually traced to him. It is pos- 
sible that the well-known picture by 
Charlet (q-v.), "Grenadier de Water- 
loo," which bears this motto, may be 
its only origin. In 181 5 Cambronne 
had to face a council of war, and, 
although exonerated, he retired for 
some years. In 1830, however, he 
re-entered the service of his country. 
He died in 1842. 

Cameo of Napoleon.— Among the 
most interesting relics of N. acquired 
by Barry O'Meara, ihis medical attend- 
ant at St. Helena, was a little cameo 
portrait of the Emperor, the work of 
an artist named Morelli. Given to 
O'Meara by Bonaparte's mother, lit is 
carved with very subtle lines, and 
shows a singularly winning face, the 
expression slightly pensive, yet indicat- 
ling great strength of character 00 the 
sitter's part. As regards the artist, 
!his name proclaims him of Italian 
origin, but we are unable to offer any 
definite information concerniing his 
career. Possibly he may be identi- 
fied with Cosimo Morelli (1732-1812), 
a gfiifted Italian architect who designed 
the Episcopal Palace at Imola, together 
with several fine buildings at Rome and 
Naples. 

Came rata, Napoleon ne Elisaf 
Countess (1806-69). — The daughter 
of Elisa Bonaparte and Pasquale 
Baciocchi ; was bom on 3 June 1806. 
In 1825 she married Count Camerata, 
one of the richest landowners of the 
Marches of Anoona, but the marriage 
proved unhappy, and a separation was 
arranged 5n 1830. On ihearing of the 



CAM PAN 

July revolution of 1830 she conceived 
the idea of kidnapping her cousin, the 
Duke of Reichstadt, or inducing him 
to lay claim to the throne of France. 
She eluded the police, and, dressed 
in masculine attire, with tricolour 
rosettes, reached Vienna. She also 
contrlived to send letters to her cousin, 
and one day when ihe was on the steps 
of his house she rushed up to him and 
kissed his hands. In consequence of 
her actions the Austrian authorities 
ordered her immediate departure. Her 
son Camerata Napoleon committed 
suicide in 1853 under most mysterious 
circumstances. 

Camerino, Duchy of. — ' Incor- 
porated in the Italian kingdom in 
1808, and subjected to the Concordat 
of Tuscany under French rule. 

Campan, Jeanne Louise Hen- 
riette, n^e Genest (1752 - 1822), 
— ^Frenchi gouvernante and companion 
to Marie Antoinette ; was born at 
Paris in 1752, her father holding the 
post of first clerk to the foreign office. 
Though possessing noi fortune, he yet 
gave his daughter an education of the 
best — she was well grounded in classi- 
cal literature, could speak English with 
ease, was taught Italian by Goldoni 
and music by Albanesi. She easily 
took her place in the most cultivated 
society, and at tihe age of fifteen was 
appointed reader tO' the three daughters 
of Louis XV., rapidly becoming a 
general favourite at court. On her 
marriage to M. Campan, son of the 
secretary of the royal cabinet, the King 
gave her as dowry an annuity of 5,000 
livres. Soon after this event sihe was 
made first lady of the bedchamber to 
Marlie Antoinette, and remained her 
faithful companion till separated from 
her by force at the sacking of the 
Tuileries (20 June 1792). Wonderful 
to relate, she escaped during the 
Terror, but events had reduced her 
to poverty, besides which her husband 
fell ill. This was after the Thermidor 
revolution. In these straits she de- 
cided to support herself by estab- 
lishing a school at St. Germain, the 
Institution Nationale de Saint-Ger- 
main. Not only was Mme. Campan 
a governess born, not made, but with 
government and society settling down 
to a normal system there was a grow- 



96 



CAM PAN 

ing" desire for the manners and g-races 
of life, her venture therefore was op- 
portune and succeeded beyond expecta- 
tion. As a link with the ancien regime 
she was looked upon as the arbiter of 
culture and etiquette, and her school 
became the fashion not only for chil- 
dren of republican families but for 
those of returned emigres. The first 
(house she took soon proved too small, 
and she removed to a larger establish- 
ment. Among her pupils she counted 
Hortense de Beauharnais, later Queen 
of Holland, Emilie de Beauharna5s, 
who married the Comte de Lavalette, 
Stephanie of the same family, who 
became the Princess of Baden, the 
two Miles. Augni^, daughters of 
another lady-in-waiting of Marie An- 
toinette, one of whom, married Mar- 
shal Ney, and Niev^s d'Almenara, the 
future wife of General Duroc. Most of 
those who became the wives of men 
famous under the Empire were for a 
time under her care. Before N. de- 
parted for Italy after his marriage to 
Josephine he visited St. Germain to 
see the little Hortense. So pleased 
was he with Mme. Campan's methods, 
especially with the place given to 
domestic economy, and the refined 
manners of the pupils, that he at once 
said he should send his "ignorant" 
little sister Caroline to be her pupil. 
At a later date Ms sister Pauline, 
already married to General Leclerc, 
was placed by him under her care 
for six months. Later, when N. 
founded the academy of ficouen for 
the education of the daughters and 
sisters of members of the Legion of 
Honour, he at once appointed Mme. 
Campan as its superintendent. She 
continued in this post till the Restora- 
tion of the Bourbons, when she imme- 
diately retired to Mantes, where the 
rest of her life was spent, saddened 
by the death of her only son and 
shadowed by the base calumnies of 
the Royalists, who pursued with a 
fanatical hatred all who had lived 
under N.'s favour. Mme. Campan was 
greatly beloved by her pupils, notably 
in the case of Queen Hortense. 
Between mistress and pupil" a deep 
and sincere friendship existed, ended 
only by death. Mme. Campan died in 
1822, leaving among her papers the 



CAMPBELL 

valuable Memoires sur la vie privee de 
Marie Antoinette, suivis de souvenirs 
et anecdotes historique sur les regnes 
de Louis XIV. -XV. (Paris, 1823). 
Other works of hers include a treatise 
De VEducation des Femmes and some 
small didactic works written in a clear 
and natural style. In Mme. Campan's 
educational system she anticipated 
some modern innovations such as the 
teaching of domestic economy. She 
has been blamed for attaching over- 
much importance to the lighter ac- 
complishments and the social arts, 
especially I'art de flair e. The period 
is a sufficient excuse for this tendency 
of hers, and the charmi of the genera- 
tion of Frenchwomen she trained and 
set the standard for is undeniable. 
She believed in study being made 
pleasant, and broke the monotony of 
school routine by the production of 
stage plays acted by the pupils, per- 
formances patronized by N., and by 
balls and entertainments. In some 
ways her system might savour of the 
pedagogue. Her rules and directions 
as to thei choice of subjects for con- 
versation are sufficiently quaint. The 
choice, she sa!id, was not by the tastes 
and inclinations of the guests, but 
strangely enough by their numbers. 
If there were twelve guests at table, 
travels and literature were to be dis^ 
cussed; if eight, then art, science and 
new inventions. When six were 
present, politics and philosophy might 
be essayed ; if four, affairs of senti- 
ment and romantic adventures were 
allowable. Two guests, then — she 
says "each talks of himself — a tete-a- 
tete belongs to the egoist." 

Campbell, Sir Neil (1776-1827).— 
Br^itish commissioner at Elba during 
N.'s residence on that island. Was 
a member of a younger branch of the 
Argyll family, and entered the military 
profession at the age of twenty-one. 
He spent a number of years in the 
West Indies, and served in the Penin- 
sular War (181 1) as colonel of a 
Portuguese regiment. In 181 3 he was 
attached to the Russian headquarters 
staff at Kalisch, and was present at 
many engagements of the War of 
Liberation and of the allied invasion, 
of France. At the battle of F^re 
Champenoise (25 March 18 14) he was 



H 



97 



f 



CAMPBELL 

seriously wounded, but recovered suffi- 
ciently to accept the office of commis- 
sioner tO' Foiitaineb-leau to arrange the 
Emperor's abdication. In the capacity 
of commissiioner hei also accompanied 
N. toi Elba on the Undaunted, and to 
him Bonaparte addressed most of his 
conversation during* meals on the 
voyage. At N.'s expressed desire 
(Campbell being at this time a 
favourite)), the Britlish Government per- 
mitted his continued residence on the 
island; his duties included the send- 
ing of reports to England regarding 
the exile, and partook of the nature 
of espionage, of whidh the Emperor 
was not unaware. Campbell kept a 
diary during his stay on Elba, which 
was published under the tlitle of 
Napoleon at Fontainehleau and Elba 
Sn 1869. It contains notes of many 
interesting conversations, and one 
sees from it that the writer entertained 
serious suspiicions regarding the forti- 
ficatiions and preparations made by N. 
on the island, and thought he was 
planning some great move ; yet Camp- 
bell stated that he believed the Emi- 
peror would probably settle down 
quietly if he were given the promised 
pension. The relations between N. 
and the commissioner gradually lost 
thelir cordiality, and the former did 
everything he could to make Camp- 
bell feel that his presence was un- 
desired. On 16 Feb. 181 5 he went to 
Leghorn with dispatches, and on his 
return {28thi) he found N. gone. It 
was CampbeH's belief that if N. did 
try to escape he would make for Italy, 
and this mistaken opinion hampered 
the efforts to recapture the fugitive. 
The Emperor had placed Campbell in 
a somewhat ambiguous position, and 
hints were not wanting that he and 
Ms government were aware of the 
conspiracy. On his return to Eng- 
land he had an interview with the 
Prince Regent, who acquitted him of 
any blame lin the matter. He fought 
at Waterloo, and in 1826, having 
attained the rank of major-general, he 
accepted the post of governor of 
Sierra Leone, but he only survived 
the climate a year, dying there on 
14 Aug. 1827. Campbell was a man 
of kindly nature, brave and efficient 
in his professiion ; and although N. 



CAMPO 

afterwards accused him of having been 
an intriguing agent of the British 
Government, his eyes were doubtless 
blinded by his own necessities and his 
estimation influenced thereby. 

Campo Formio, Treaty of.— At 
the close of the Italian campaign of 
1793-97, in the course of which Bona- 
parte had brought Italy and Austria 
to the feet of France, a treaty was 
agreed upon by the latter countries at 
Campo Formioi (17 Oct. 1797). The 
great desire of the conqueror was to 
obtain command of the Mediterranean 
by securing for France the Ionian 
Isles and the fleet of Venice, and 
during the peace negotiations of the 
summer of 1797 he pursued this policy 
determinedly, refusing to be hampered 
either by the will of the Directors or 
by the arguments of the other 
plenipotentiariies, which he met more 
than once with violent outbursts of 
rage. The representatives of the two 
countries met at the beginning of Sept. 
at Udine, near Bonaparte's Italian 
headquarters, and throughout the 
proceedings he held his army in readi- 
ness for a renewal of hostilities. At 
length the terms of a treaty of peace 
were agreed upon, and the treaty 
signed at Campo Formio on 17 Oct. 
The provisions were as follows : (i) 
The Austrian Netherlands (already 
occupied by France) were formally 
ceded by the Emperor Francis; (2) 
Bonaparte was to cede to Austria the 
Italian lands east of the Adige, with 
Dalmatia and Venetian Istria (con- 
trary to the wish of the Directors of 
France, Venice was included in this 
part of the bargain/) ; (3) the Venetian 
fleet and the Ionian Isles were to pass 
into the keeping of France; (4) Vene- 
tian lands west of the Adige to the 
Tidino were to be included in the 
Cisalpine Republic; (5) Genoa was to 
be constituted a republic under the 
name of the Ligurian Republic. In 
addition to these provisions, arrange- 
ments were made for a congress to be 
held at Rastatt to deal with German 
territories, and secret articles of the 
treaty bound Austria to do all in her 
power to enable France to obtain the 
German lands west of the Rhine, while 
France in turn promised to use her 
influence at the congress to obtain 



98 



CANNING 

the archbishopric of Salzburg for 
Francis. 

Canning:, George (1770-1827),— 

British statesman ; was born in London 
on II April 1770. Through the good- 
wilL of his uncle, Stratford Canning, 
he was educated at Eton and Oxford. 
In 1794 he entered Parliament for 
Newport, Isle of Wight, and two 
years later became under-secretary of 
state. He speedily made a reputation 
in politics by his Abolitionist speeches 
and his advocacy of the war with 
France. Fromi 1801 to 1804 he was 
in opposition, and O'U the death of 
Pitt in 1806 he resigned ofhce, and 
only returned when the Portland 
ministry was formed. Then he became 
Minister for Foreign Affairs, in which 
capacity he did much to thwart the 
plans of the French. In 1809 a dis- 
pute arose with Castlereagh, which re- 
sulted in a duel wherein Canning was 
wounded. Thenceforward till 1822 
Canning played but a minor part in 
British politics. In 1822 he was 
appointed governor-general of India, 
and was about to depart when Castle- 
reagh 's suicide recalled him. He 
became Minister for Foreign Affairs 
and leader of the House of Commons, 
rising once more high in public 
opinion. In April 1827 he succeeded 
Lord Liverpool as premier and formed 
a ministry, but already his health had 
begun to fail, and on 8 Aug. 1827 he 
died. 

Canova, Antonio (1757-1822).— 
Italian sculptor. This sculptor, men- 
tioned here on account of his associa- 
tion with Bonaparte, was bom at 
Passagno, a village amid the hills of 
Asolo ; and here he spent the greater 
part of his childhood, living with his 
grandfather, who, being a sepulchral 
stone-cutter by profession, early 
marked and encouraged the boy's 
fondness for statuary, thereafter see- 
ing that he was given an adequate art 
education. Later on, Canova having 
grown famous throughout Italy, N. 
sought to bring him to France, the 
Emperor's desire being that the 
sculptor should supervise in Paris 
certain projects of an artistic nature ; 
and, though the Italian politely de- 
clined this offer, professiing to feel an 
aversion to the conqueror of his 



CANTILLON 

country, he was induced at last to 
ooime and model statues of the Em^ 
press Marie Louise and of N. himself. 
But his greatest triumph is undoubtedly 
the statue of Pauline as Venus — a 
noble work worthy of the palmy days 
of Hellenic art. It is interesting to 
recall that, whilst engaged on the 
latter work, he had the courage openly 
to criticize Bonaparte's previous re- 
moval from Italy of many works of 
art ; yet it would seem that he gave no 
offence to his imperial patron by being 
so outspoken, for, whereas N. desired 
to be figured in uniform, Canova per- 
suaded him: to pose instead in a 
pseudo-antique garb. The statue, 
twelve feet in height, was hewn at St. 
Cloud ; while on completion it was 
brought tO' Paris and placed in the 
Louvre. However, it stayed there 
only a little while, Wellington in 181 5 
carrying it victoriously to England, 
where it remains to this day. 

Cantiiion Bequest, The.— See 
Cantillon^ Marie Andre Nicholas. 

Cantiiion, MarieAndre Nicholas, 
whose name is written in history as 
the would-be assassin of Wellington, 
and subsequent recipient of the great 
N.'s approval as expressed in the 
famous Cantiiion Bequest, was born 
at Paris in 1783. 

Item 5 of the Fourth Codicil to N.'s 
will (q.v.) runs as follows: "Ten 
thousand francs to the sub-officer Can- 
tiiion, who has undergone a trial upon 
the charge of having endeavoured to 
assassinate Lord Wellington, of which 
he was pronounced innocent. Can- 
tiiion had as much right to assassiinate 
that oligarch as the latter had to send 
me to perish upon the rock of St. 
Helena. Wellington, who proposed this 
outrage, attempted to justify himself 
by pleading the interests of Great 
Britain. Cantiiion, if he had really 
assassinated that lord, would have ex- 
cused himself and have been justified 
by the same motives, the interest of 
France, to get rid of a general who 
moreover had violated the capitulation 
of Paris, and by that had rendered 
himself responsible for the blood of 
the martyrs Ney, Lab^doy^re, etc. ; 
and for the crime of having pillaged 
the museums, contrary to the text of 
the treaties." 



99 



CANTILLON 

Cantillon, the son of a modeller, 
had been taught the trade of a work- 
ling- jeweller. Later, however, he 
joined the army as a substitute for a 
conscript, and served in a cavalry 
regiment in the campaigns of 1808 and 
1809. In 1813 he retired with a pen- 
sion, but during the Hundred Days 
he again served, afterwards spending 
his time partly in Paris and partly in 
Brussels, and becoming a rabid Bona- 
partist. 

On the night 10 to 11 Feb. 1818 a 
pistol was fired, presumably at the Duke 
of Wellington while his carrliage was 
passing under the archway leading to 
his house in Paris. Darkness enabled 
the would-be murderer to escape, and 
search revealed no trace of a bullet 
on the vehicle or in the courtyard. 
The police, however, finally brought to 
trial two persons, Louis Joseph Stani- 
las Marinet and Cantillon ; and the 
trial began on 10 May 1819, lasted 
five days, and resulted in both men 
being acquitted. The evidence, at 
least so far as Cantillon was con- 
cerned, scarcely justified the acquittal, 
which seems to have rested upon 
the assumption that for ethnological 
reasons it would be impossible for a 
Frenchman to have committed such a 
dastardly crime ! But there is little 
doubt that Cantillon was a rogue, and 
richly deserved such punishment as he 
escaped. 

No mention is made by memoirists 
who have dealt with N.'s life at St. 
Helena, of Cantillon or his trial, but 
it is probable that great interest would 
be taken in his attempted crime, as 
indeed is shown by the Bequest. One 
cannot reconcile N.'s approval of this 
would-be assassin with his denuncia- 
tion of parallel deeds and his personal 
fear of such men. It has been sug- 
gested that his mind must have given 
way, but there is no trace of any 
weakening of intellect in his other 
bequests, or his Last Instructions to 
the King of Rome which was dictated 
about the same time. Yet his justifi- 
cation of Cantillon is not only im- 
moral but illogical, and much at 
variance with his attitude to similar 
attempts upon his own person. 

As regards the payment of the 
Bequest, accounts diifer. One story is 



CANTILLON 

that between the years 1823 and 1826, 
while the throne of France was occu- 
pied by a Bourbon, the executors of 
N.'s will, Montholon and Bertrand, 
paid to Cantillon certain sums on 
account. When Napoleon III. as- 
cended the throne, he appointed a 
commission to carry out the conditions 
of the will; to these commissioners Can- 
tillon 's widow applied for payment of 
the balance due to her of 1,200 francs ; 
and it is said that they refused, saying 
that the testator must have been insane 
to make such a bequest. Another 
account states that two commissions 
were appointed by Napoleon III. : the 
first repO'rted in Aug. 1853 that none 
of the legatees "had received more 
than about half what was coming to 
them " ; while the second, in April 
1855, stated that Cantillon had re- 
ceived 10,000 francs and 354 francs 
interest, and not one of the other lega- 
tees had received full payment of their 
bequests. 

Much interest was aroused in Great 
Britain at this time with reference to 
the Cantillon Bequest, owing to an 
attempt which was made to assassi- 
nate the Emperor Napoleon III. and 
his Empress by certain Italian con- 
spirators whom it subsequently trans- 
pired had recently been resident in 
England. France and her Emperor 
took occasion to hold up England to 
scorn as a land in which assassins 
could find a safe asylum, and even 
addressed protests to the English 
Parliament wiith reference to the in- 
adequacy of English law. Not un- 
naturally these roused great indigna- 
tion, coming as they did from a man 
who it was publicly stated had 
authorized part at least of N.'s in- 
famous bequest to be paid to the 
legatee — a rewarder of assassins was 
scarcely a fit person to make such 
representations. 

The truth concerning the payment of 
the Cantillon Bequest has never come 
to light, and great doubt also exists 
as to the date of Cantillon's death. 
On the one hand it was said his widow 
applied for payment to the commission 
in 1853, while on the other it was 
affirmed that in the year 1858 he was 
living in Brussels, pursuing the trade 
of locksmith. 



100 



CAPE 

Cape Finisterre, Battle of. — 

A naval battle fougiht on 22 July 1805 
between a British squadron of 15 sail 
of the line under Sir Robert Calder 
and a Franco-Spanish fleet of 20 
battleships under Admiral Villeneuve. 
The latter lost two ships, 149 killed 
and 327 wounded, while the British 
loss was 183 killed and wounded. 

Capri.— An island in the Bay of 
Naples, captured by the English lin 
1806, but two' years later retaken by 
the French under Murat, when Joseph 
Bonaparte took up the reins of govern- 
ment in Naples, while Ferdinand IV. 
was compelled to retire. Joseph 
found the country in a state of bar- 
barism, and his way was not made any 
easier by the atrocities which his great 
enemy, the Queen of Naples, was 
having carried out in the south of the 
country. He reigned two years, but 
was finally replaced by Murat, who 
devoted himself to military reforms. 
Ten years later the Neapolitan army 
amounted to 80,000 men, and during 
a hostile visitation the island of Capri 
remained well guarded, while the 
garrisonsi in Malta and Corsica were 
compelled to evacuate. Sir Hudson 
Lowe was governor of Capri when the 
fortress was taken by Murat. 

Caricature, Napoleon in.— Cari- 
catures lay bare for us — to a greater 
extent, perhaps, than anything else — 
the popular opinion of Bonaparte a 
hundred years ago; while, at and 
about that time, they played their own 
little part in making ihistory, and N. 
himself was well aware of this. Know- 
ing that anti-Bonaparte fervour was 
being continually stirred up in Eng- 
land by caricaturists, he realized that 
his own cause might likewise be 
abetted by artists of that kind ; and 
he kept a considerable number of them 
in his employment, while we find him 
writing to Fouch^ from Milan in 1805 : 
" Have caricatures made : an English- 
man, purse in hand, entreating the 
various Powers to take his money." 

As regards the probable number of 
works of this sort, Ashton, in his 
English Caricature and Satire on 
Napoleon I. (London, 1884), main- 
tains that the British Isles brought 
forth some three hundred ; but he 
might, without being extravagant, 



CARICATUR 

have given a larger figure ; and, when 
we remember also the cartoons pro- 
duced by other countries than Eng- 
land, we are faced by a formidable 
sum total. Some of these produc- 
tions appeared in books, notably Dr. 
Syntax's hudibrastic poem on the Em- 
peror's career, w^hile others saw the 
light originally in magazines ; but, in 
general, the Napoleonic caricature 
was a single sheet, complete in itself. 
The size was usually folio, and the 
drawing was sometimes reproduced by 
etching, sometimes by wood-engrav- 
ing, while hand-coloured prints en- 
joyed a tolerable vogue. The chief 
publishers of these, in London, were 
Ackerman in the Strand, Mrs. Hum- 
phrey in St. James Street, and Fores 
in Sackville Street ; nor did the busi- 
ness of these, and analogous people, 
consist only in selling' the caricatures, 
for the publishers were also wont — in 
the fashion of the modern circulating 
library — to send portfolios of their 
wares out to houses. 

It is a curious fact that, while the 
England of N.'s time brought forth 
so many brilliant caricaturists, con- 
temporaneous France produced com- 
paratively few who acquired anything 
like wide honour. It is true that one 
of the ablest of the Empire miniature 
painters, Jean Baptiste Isabey (1767- 
1855) (q-v.), a protege of the Empress 
Josephine, has to his credit at least 
one Napoleonic caricature, The Little 
Cohlenz; and it is the case, again, that 
analogous works were executed by 
artists so distinguished as Louis Boilly, 
Carl Vernet (q.v.), and his son Horace. 
Yet these men are but the exceptions 
which prove the rule, and the great 
mass of French Napoleonic carica- 
turists are known nowadays only to 
the inquisitive, or to those who have 
made a special study of pictorial satire. 
Langlois, Maleuvre, Jean Tardieu, 
Hennequin, Picot, Ruotte, Charon, 
Forestier and Chasselat, Desrais and 
Tassart — these are Empire humorists 
of the pencil whom it is well to men- 
tion by name, but, even were we able 
to offer biographical information con- 
cerning them, this would be rather a 
superfluous task. For most of them 
were shy of signing their works, a 
fact which appears in no way sur- 



CARICATURE 

prising when we recall Bonaparte's 
strict, if not tyrannical, surveillance of 
the press {see Journalism) ; and in- 
deed it is hard to understand why he 
tolerated the existence of the publish- 
ingf house of Martinet, situate in the 
Rue du Coq Honore, whence emanated 
the bulk of the French Napoleonic 
caricatures. In numerous of these the 
satire is veiled in subtle fashion ; but 
in equally many the signiificance is 
transparent, this being true especially 
of drawings emphasizing the blessings 
of peace and the miser'ies of war. A 
remarkably fine work belonging toi this 
category lis The Olive Branch, wherein 
is represented, to the left, a female 
figure pointing towards a smiling and 
fertile plain, and tO' the right various 
implements of war, these having for 
background a snowy landscape, in the 
midst of wlhich lis a burning village; 
while the Emperor is figured stand- 
ing between these two different scenes, 
his right hand extended in a gesture 
clearly expressing contempt for the 
symbols of peace. A further able 
work of like purport is The Universal 
Toast, its subject a group of people 
carousing lin honour of a pacific 
policy; while several prints show N. 
engaged in a game of cards with 
various foreiign potentates ; in another 
drawing he lis seen receiving lessons 
in deportment from Talma, and in yet 
another he is represented being driven 
about by two men playing battledore 
and shuttlecock. Many caricatures, 
again, refer to Bonaparte's banish- 
ment to Elba, among the best of 
these beiing one in which he appears 
in the guise of Robinson Crusoe ; 
while on the occasion of the Em- 
peror's ultimate captivity at St. 
Helena divers French satirists pro- 
duced drawings signifying their joy 
at this momentous event. A striking 
work of this sort delineates the exile 
chained to a rock, his vitals being 
gnawed by a gaunt and hungry-look- 
ling eagle ; while scarcely less poignant 
is a drawing in which N., squatting 
on the ground with a bitter expression 
on his face, is trying tO' make a meal 
off a huge article labelled " Fromage 
de St. Hel^ne." 

Turning to the subject of German 
Napoleonic caricaturists, we are again 



CARICATURE 

faced by a big muster-roll of workers 
who are little known. Of these men, 
the most notable is the Swabian 
Johann Michael Voltz (1784-1858), 
probably the ablest satire coming from 
his pencil being The Triumph of the 
Year 1813; while other artists who did 
remarkably good work are Schadow 
and Geissler, Ramberg and Hoffmann, 
Hess and Girardet, Stein, Arndt and 
Fichte. Many of these Germans, like 
the Frenchmen mentioned above, were 
occasionally diffident about affixing 
their names to their drawings; for it 
must be remembered that, for a while 
at least, there were differences of 
opinion in Germany about Bonaparte, 
some parts of the country being in- 
clined to favour him, and approve in 
particular of his fiscal policy, other 
parts meanwhile detesting him as 
cordially as he was detested in Eng- 
land. Gradually the latter sentiment 
grew in Germany, and simultaneously 
the caricaturists, throwing all shyness 
aside, began introducing into their 
satires that grisly element so promi- 
nent in the works of painters like 
Diirer, Lucas, Cranach and Altdorfer. 
Thus, in one print, we see N. viewing 
the Battle of Leiipsic with a skeleton 
beside him ; elsewhere he is shown 
occupying a cage in a menagerie, the 
neighbouring cages being filled with 
beasts gnawing bones ; while now he 
is depicted burning and pillag'ing a 
village ; and now he is figured seated 
on a heap of skulls, flanked signifi- 
cantly by bags of money. None of 
these works, however, has very much 
genuine artistic worth ; and the best 
German satires of N. were not of 
native workmanship, but were adapta- 
tions of English masters, this prac- 
tice of copying the English school 
being also^ carried on in Italy. But 
Bonaparte had scarcely set foot in 
Italy ere some of its artists began 
aiming their own shafts at him ; and 
though, so long as the despot held 
sway over the Italians, their satires 
were mostly issued stealthily, this 
state of affairs was changed later, 
when the hated conqueror's luck began 
to wane. Thereupon the Italians, for- 
getting that N. had really done much 
for their land, began to satirize him 
openly ; and they produced numerous 



102 



CARICATURE 

caricatures on the subject of hiis Rus- 
sian campaign, together with his re- 
tirement to Elba, while repeatedly they 
waxed humorous concerning' ihis en- 
deavours to ingratiate himself with the 
freemasons in Italy. Venice appears 
to have been the town where most of 
the Italian canicatures were published, 
numbers likewise emanating from 
Rome and Milan ; while among artists 
engaged in the work we may cite Bar- 
tolomeo Pinelli, Lamberti and Pietro 
Buratti. And, if these are recondite 
names, we come toi a familiar one on 
passing to study the Spanish, school, 
for Goya (1746- 1828), that most viva- 
cious of Iberian painters, is credited 
with at least two Napoleonic carica- 
tures, The Plucked Eagle and Napo- 
leon in Purgatory. Moreover, the 
same master's wonderful series of 
etchings, Desastres de la Guerra, 
certainly did much to stir up a fine 
patriotic ardour in Spain ; and this 
ardour, in turn, naturally proved a 
great stimulus to a host of carica- 
turists, anonymous and otherwise. 

The Spanish satirists, like the 
Italians and Germans, occasionally 
reflect a debt to the English school ; 
and, though the Muscovite carica- 
turists of N. sometimes disclose 
an analogous influence, Russia had 
really little need to borrow in this 
way, being blest with a band of 
gifted native satirists, notably Sam- 
oridgy and Ivan Terebenef. The 
latter, in fact, holds a high place in 
the whole realm of pictorial satire, 
his draughtsmanship being invariably 
vligorous, and much of his work 
having an imposing simplicity, as 
witness in particular a drawing called 
The Dancing Lesson, wherein Bona- 
parte is performing a jig, his steps 
being quickened by an angry Rus- 
sian peasant armed with a huge 
whip, while a neighbouring Russian 
plays on the flageolet. Terebenef is 
also' a fine colourist, this gift of 
his being illustrated especially by his 
Medical Consultation, which shows 
N. being examined by two doctors 
with delightfully lugubrious faces; 
but this sort of theme was hardly 
the usual one with the Muscovite 
artists, who greatly preferred to deal 
with the horrors which the invading 



CARICATURE 

Frenchmen suffered alike from the 
grim Russian winter and the on- 
slaughts of Cossack cavalry. Nor 
were the Russians alone in this, for 
a similar topic appealed to sundry 
Dutchmen, and in particular Willem 
Esser, who produced a remarkably 
fine print in which N. is seen run- 
ning away to the best of his ability, 
a Cossack spearman attacking him 
from behind. Equally good are two 
further drawings by the same satirist, 
the subject of the first being the Em- 
peror incarcerated in a rat-trap, the 
second depiicting him mounted on a 
bantam- cock ; and it is interesting to 
note that Esser was a publisher of 
caricatures besides an artist, his pub- 
lishing house being at the Hague. 
Other Dutch satirists who deserve to 
be mentioned are Bock and Peter van 
Woenzel, the latter better known by 
his pseudonym: of "Ammatb Effendi 
Neckim Bachi." And passing from 
Holland to Switzerland, we find that 
in that country the caricaturing of N. 
began almost with the A^ery outset of 
his career, the two ablest artists in this 
field being David Hess and Balthasar 
Anton Dunker. The former (1770- 
1843) sometimes reflects the influence 
of the English school, but a very 
original and individual manner was 
employed by Dunker, who, born in 
1746 at Saal, studied art for a while 
at Paris under Joseph Marie Vien, 
settled subsequently at Basle, and 
eventually removed thence to Berne, 
where he died in 1807. His work is 
mostly of an intricate character, the 
details frequently having great beauty 
in themselves, yet never being obtru- 
sive. The bulk of his caricatures 
appeared in the form of quarto sheets, 
the drawing commonly reproduced by 
etching done by Dunker's own hand. 
In general the sheet embodies a whole 
sequence of little pictures, and thus, 
in one, we see in the centre the young 
N. himself — manifestly a close study 
from the many portraits painted of 
him while he was First Consul — this 
likeness being flanked by medallions 
of Attila and Hannibal; while above 
this trio of portraits are three separate 
representations of episodes in Napo- 
leonic history, a further three of these 
occupying the foot of the paper. In 



103 



CARICATURE 

numerous other drawings by Dunker 
balloons figure prominently ; and 
their presence refers, probably, to 
the exploiits of the French aero- 
nautist, Francois Blanchard (1738- 
1808), who crossed the English Chan- 
nel by balloon in 1785, a feat which 
won the admiration of Louis XVI. 
at the time, and appears afterwards 
to have made N. think seriously of 
using balloons for sending his mes- 
sages hitlher and thiither. 

Sweden, like Su^itzerland, has a few 
caricatures of Bonaparte to her credit ; 
but these are not of great interest, and 
we may now turn to the great English 
satirists, of whom perhaps the first 
to gain notoriety was Isaac Cruick- 
shank. Born about 1756 — ^the exact 
date is uncertain — Ihe produced his 
iniliial Napoleonic carlicature in 1797, 
the title being Buonaparte at Rome 
giving Audience in State; and the 
broad humour marking this work is 
found in nearly all the subsequent 
shafts levelled at the Emperor by 
the artist, whose death occurred four 
years prior to Waterloo. In fact, 
Isaac is among the most delightfully 
and genuinely funny of all N.'s 
English satirists ; but, though [his 
composition is generally good, and 
his draughtsmanship usually spirited, 
it can scarcely be gainsaid that, as 
an artist pure and simple, he is not 
the equal of his son, George Cruick- 
shank. The latter, whose name is 
widely familiar on account of his long 
and close association with Dickens, 
for whom he illustrated several 
stories, was born in 1792, and began 
to attract attention by his drawings 
while he was yet in his teens ; while 
ere long he turned his attention toi 
Napoleonic satire, one of the cleverest 
of his early works in this field being 
Broken Gingerbread, its topic the 
Emperor carrying on his head a tray 
of toy figures. This was succeeded 
quickly by many analogous things, 
notably John Bull making a Capital 
Bonfire, and The Eruption of Mount 
Vesuvius; while the year 181 5 saw 
the publication of a satirical book 
lillustrated throughout by Cruick- 
sihank, The Life of Napoleon: A 
Hudihrastic Poem, by William Combe 
(1741-1823), better known by his 



CARICATURE 

pseudonym of "Dr. Syntax." The 
drawings here reflect the artist's skill 
at its zenith, and, turning the pages, 
we are astonished again and again 
by the rare economy of means with 
which Cruickshank has attained his 
different effects. His every line, 
however tiny, seems to obey him 
implicitly, conveying precisely what 
he desired it to convey. Cruickshank 
forms an interesting link with the 
present day, for his death did not 
occur till 1878. Contemporary with 
the latter's father, the caricaturist 
Thomas Rowlandson achieved great 
success. He was born in 1756, and, 
having studied art for a while in 
Paris, he settled in London, where 
he lived chiefly until his death in 1827. 
His caricatures, like the elder Cruick- 
shankj's, are mostly oif a broadly 
humorous kind, as witness Napoleon 
the Little in a Rage with his Great 
French Eagle, and again, A Rare 
Acquisition to the Royal Menagerie, 
the former showing Bonaparte en- 
gaged in an altercation with a huge 
gaunt bird with one claw in a sling, 
the latter representing the Emperor 
incarcerated in a sort of parrot's 
cage, which is being drawn through 
the streets by two dO'nkeys, inquisi- 
tive crowds gazing the while on the 
spectacle. As risible as either of these 
is The Flight of Buonaparte from Hell 
Bay, in which we see a group of lusty 
devils, the arch-fiend in theiir midst, 
who is calmly blowing soap-bubbles, 
N. perched on one of them ; while yet 
funnier is The Corsican Tiger at Bay, 
the finest passage in this drawing 
being the dogs who are bunting the 
imperial prey. Drawn with superb 
vigour and apparently complete spon- 
taneity, they bring to mind some of 
the dogs in Rubens' various hunting 
scenes. And it is this same quality 
of vigorous draughtsmanship, before 
all else, w!hich renders so interesting 
the numerous caricatures by James 
Gillray. Born in 1757, he was 
apprenticed as a boy to a letter- 
engraver ; but ere long he had begun 
to devote himself exclusively to art, 
ordinary portraiture occupying his 
attention besides satire ; and, after a 
busy career of tolerable success, he 
passed to his rest in the year of 



104 



CARICATURE 

Waterloo. It were a long- matter to 
enumerate even the cream of his 
Napoleonic satires, yet we would fain 
cite, as sing-ularly clever, his Boney 
and Talley, the topic here being 
Talleyrand wrang'ling" with his im- 
perial master in a butcher's shop ; 
while we must not leave Gillray with- 
out offering homage to the beautiful 
colour in many of his polychromatic 
works, and it is worth noting that he 
it was who originally coined the now 
familiar phrase, "Little Boney." 

If good colour is salient in many 
of Gillray 's productions, the same may 
be said emphatically of much by Lewis 
Marks, nor is this by any means the 
latter artist's only fine quality. In- 
deed, one of his drawings, Boney and 
his New Subjects at Elba, competes 
favourably as a work of art with the 
best satires of the youngfer Cruick- 
shank; while, simply as a piece 
of fun, it may be compared with- 
out extravagance to anything by the 
greatest humorists of the pencil, not 
even excepting Keene and Hog^arth, 
Daumier and Gavarni. Less visible, 
but in many ways powerful, is a 
further caricature by Marks, Boney' s 
Meditations on the Island of St. 
Helena; and we regret being unable 
to g'ive any biog-raphical details con- 
cerning this talented master. Nor is 
much known of Georg-e Murgatroyd 
Woodward ; the date of his birth as 
uncertain, but it is evident that he 
lived chieBy in London, and died in 
1809; while we recall with interest 
that he was something of a writer 
besides a caricaturist, and that a 
volume of his miscellaneous pieces in 
prose and verse was issued in 1805. 
Great power is found in many of his 
Napoleonic satires, for instance, A 
Cock and Bull Story and St. James's 
Volunteers Firing at a Target in Kil- 
burn Wells; while nearly all Wood- 
ward's drawings are the more impres- 
sive by reason of their fine simplicity, 
a precious merit seen again in divers 
works by Charles Ansell and in some 
by David Roberts. Look, for example, 
at the former's Boney in Possession of 
the Mtllstone, Buonaparte in Egypt, 
and The Royal Gardeners; or look at 
the other artist's Hop, Skip and Jump, 
in which N. is seen flingfing himself 



CARICATURE 

on to a drawn sword brandished aloft 
by a typically English warrior stand- 
ing" secure upon Dover cliffs. 

Roberts appears to have been him- 
self a publisher of caricatures, and no 
doubt some of the fine anonymous 
drawings sent out by his house were 
in reality by his own clever hand;' 
while many other British publishers 
were wont to issue Napoleonic satires 
to which artists' names were not ap- 
pended, several of the best things in 
this category emanating" from the firm 
of McCleary, in Dublin. The subject 
of these unsigned attacks on the Em- 
peror is in itself a wide subject, too 
wide to be handled here; nor have we 
scope to speak of the various carica- 
tures by John Cause and Temple 
West, Charles Knight, and John 
Nixon, Elmes, Brooke, and Charles 
— men concerning- whom little is 
known, but who all manifested a 
certain talent for pictorial satire. 
Lack of space also prevents us from 
dealing- with heraldic caricatures, a 
class of work produced on a specially 
larg-e scale on the occasion of Bona- 
parte's coronation ; but we must pause 
for a moment to speak of the countless 
satires which, instead of being drawn 
on paper, were executed in pottery or 
porcelain. The Brighton Museum has 
a singularly fine collection of mugs 
and jugs of this sort, mostly in Staf- 
fordshire ware, and beautiful bits of 
colour they are in many cases; and 
we note with interest that among 
Brig"hton's treasures in this line is a 
plaque of white glazed earthenware 
which reproduces Voltz's drawing. 
The Triumph of the Year 1813. A 
fair number of these pretty caricatures 
in pottery, it would seem, were made 
a gfood while after the object of their 
Wit had been safely exiled at St. 
Helena; and, indeed, we find that the 
practice of satiriaiing" "Little Boney," 
far from dying* with him, was carried 
on till long after his decease. The 
publication in 1827 of Sir Walter 
Scott's Life of Napoleon evoked 
numerous cariicatures ; and if the 
best of these was not aimed directly 
at Bonaparte himself — for the subject 
is the Duke of Wellington reproach- 
ing Sir Walter for some inaccurate 
statements — yet the grim Emperor's 



105 



CAR NOT 

doing^s were trounced a little later 
on by William Heath, and soon 
afterwards by the clever draughts- 
man Richard Doyle, in certain illus- 
trations to early editions of the 
Bon Gaultier Ballads. The last- 
named artist also sketched, in 1846, 
a caricature of N. for Mr. Punch's 
Historical Portrait Gallery; and men- 
tion of this work reminds us that 
Thackeray, a master whose skill 
with the pencil has been unduly 
eclipsed by his fame as a writer, 
drew a satirical portrait of Bonaparte 
for one of the opening- numbers of 
Punch, where it appeared at the 
head of an article by Gilbert h. 
Beckett, entitled The Astley-Napo- 
leon Museum. All these later carica- 
tures, of course, lack the biting savour 
of their predecessors ; for even in early 
Victorian times people were begiinniing 
to forget that N. had once been a 
menace toi British liberty, and were 
coming to regard him instead as 
nothing less than a glorious hero. 

Carnot, Lazare Nicolas Mar- 
guerite (1753 - 1823). — Born at 
Nolay, in Burgundy, in 1753, of an 
ancient family long settled in that city, 
his father being an advocate. He was 
early placed at M^zi^res, where he re- 
ceived his training as an engineer, 
becoming an officer at twenty years of 
age. In 1783 he was made a captain. 
His essays, Sur les machines en 
general, and one on balloons, gained 
him admittance into several learned 
societies, whilst his ^loge on Marshal 
Vauban obtained the crown at the 
academy of Dijon and the approbation 
of Prince Henry of Prussia. 

The cause of the Revolution appealed 
to his convictions, and he became an 
adherent and participator, throughout 
his career remaining sternly faithful 
to the principles of the republican 
creed. He was elected a deputy for 
the Pas de Calais to the legislature, 
where, from the first, his chief interest 
was in army affairs. He was nomin- 
ated member of the Committee of 
Public Safety, and one of his first acts 
was to call for a levee en masse, a 
course that led to speedy results, for 
soon thirteen armies comprising 
750,000 men were ready for the field 
against the disunited Allies. His ad- 



CARNOT 

ministrative work was of the highest 
order, and he was often with the 
armies in the field, as, for instance, at 
Wattignies with Jourdan, where his 
share in the defeat of the Austrians 
was so great that the credit of the 
French victory has been largely as- 
cribed to him.. In 1795, when 
Carnot's arrest was demanded, it was 
to the recognition of his superhuman 
labours — a recognition embodied in the 
cry of an indignant deputy, "Will you 
dare to lay hands on the organizer of 
victory? " — that Carnot owed his life. 

Carnot was among the first to discern 
the energy and great abilities of the 
young general Bonaparte, and tO' this 
the latter owed his appointment to the 
command of the Itahan Army. Already 
he had sent in to Carnot a plan for the 
prosecution of the campaign in that 
country, and this commending itself to 
Carnot's drastic standard of efficiency, 
the incompetent General Scherer was 
quickly superseded by the Corsican. 

In the coup d'etat of 18 Fructidor 
(4 Sept. 1797) Carnot only saved him- 
self by flight. After the 18 Brumaire 
(9-10 Nov. 1799) he returned to France 
and again became Minister for War, 
and his foresight and genius for 
organization largely aided in the 
achievements of Bonaparte. He also 
accompanied Moreau in the Rhine 
campaign. As the finance of the 
country was in a strained condition he 
set about the task of reducing the ex- 
penses of the army, while still retain- 
ing it at an efficient standard. He 
effected many reforms in army ad- 
ministration, and his sterling integrity 
was shown in his firm refusal to accept 
gifts from contractors and other in- 
terested parties. Later, owing to 
friction in the council of state, he ten- 
dered his resignation, but it was long 
before the First Consul would accept 
it, realizing as he did the rare qualities 
he would loise in relinquishing Carnot's 
services. From 1801 he lived in re- 
tirement with his family, but in 1802 
he was called as a senator to the 
tribunate. Here again he showed the 
same inflexibility of principle ; he voted 
against the consulate for life, steadily 
oppO'Sed the growing monarchic ten- 
dencies of N., and delivered a vigorous 
speech against his proclamation as 

106 



CARRAT 

Emperor, and was the one who alone 
refused to sign the reg^ister of alle- 
giance. Despite this, N., knowing 
well Carnot's worth, gave him a pen- 
sion in 1809 and commanded him to 
write a work on fortification for the 
college at Metz. Still a stalwart Re- 
publican he took no part in the 
Napoleonic wars, but in 1814, when in 
his judgment France herself was in 
danger, he offered his services. He 
was at once made a general of division 
by N., and his first command was that 
of the strategic position at Antwerp, 
his defence of which fortress proved a 
remarkable exploit. Strange to say, 
it was Carnot alone who opposed, in 
the Council of Ministers, N.'s abdica- 
tion — Carnot, who in 1804 had left his 
country rather than acknowledge him 
Emperor. This may doubtless be 
traced to his opposition to the return 
of the Bourbon dynasty as well as 
loyalty to one who commanded his ad- 
miration and sympathies from the first. 
Carnot, on his return to Paris, ad- 
dressed a memorial to Louis XVI 1 1., 
which aroused public attention abroad 
as well as in France. During the 
fateful Hundred Days he again joined 
N., and became Minister of the In- 
terior. He was proscribed under the 
second Restoration, and henceforward 
devoted himself wholly to science. He 
died at Magdeburg in 1823. 

Oarrat. — A valet in the service of 
Josephine while she was yet Mme. 
Bonaparte and while her husband was 
absent on his Egyptian expedition. 
When Josephine visited Plombi^res to 
take the waters, Carrat showed her 
much attention, bringing her bouquets 
and paying her many compliments. 
He was so droll and amusing that 
Josephine resolved to take him into her 
service, where he became her valet de 
chamhre and coiffeur. He was ex- 
ceedingly frank with his mistress, and 
at times actually sco'lded her, especially 
when she made presents to her other 
dependants. On such occasions he 
would say : "You had better give this 
to me," and Josephine was so good- 
natured that she merely laughed at 
such conduct. Josephine's ladies were 
in the habit of playing practical jokes 
upon Carrat, and several of these are 
recounted by Constant as follows : 



CARRAT 

"At La Malmaison, one of Mme. 
Bonaparte's favourite amusements was 
to take a walk along the high road 
which skirts the park wall. She vastly 
preferred this promenade, where there 
was (sic) always clouds of dust, to 
strolling along the cool, green alleys 
of the park itself. One day, when 
going for this walk with her daughter 
Hortense, Mme. Bonaparte told 
Carrat to accompany them. He was 
delighted at such a mark of distinc- 
tion, and with great alacrity complied, 
when suddenly, from one of the ditches 
by the roadway, there ro'se up a gaunt 
figure robedl in a white sheet — in fact, 
a regular ghost, such as those of which 
I have read a description in transla- 
tions of old-fashioned English novels. 
Needless to say, the ghost had been 
expressly put there by the ladies in 
order to frighten Carrat. The joke 
was certainly a most successful one. 
Hardly had he spied the apparition 
than Carrat rushed in abject terror to 
Mme. Bonaparte, and tremblingly 
exclaimed, ' Madam, madam, look at 
the ghost ! It is that of the lady who 
lately died at Plombi^res ! ' 

" ' Hush, Carrat, what a coward you 
are ! ' 

" ' No, but I am sure that it is her 
ghost ! ' 

" Hereupon the man in the sheet, in 
orden worthily to play his part, rushed 
at Carrat and waved his white gar- 
ments, which so terrified the unlucky 
valet that he fell down in a faint, and 
it needed every effort to bring him to. 

"Another time — always while the 
General was away in Egypt, and I was 
not yet in the service of any mem- 
ber of his family — ^Mme. Bonaparte 
wished to give certain of her friends 
an exhibition of Carrat's cowardice. 
Accordingly, a plot was formed among 
the ladies at La Malmaison, Mile. 
Hortense acting as chief con- 
spirator. So often have I heard 
Mme. Bonaparte describe this scene 
that I am able to particularize its 
ludicrous details. Carrat slept in a 
room next to a small closet. A hole 
was made in the partition, through 
which a string was passed, at the end 
of which was a pot full of water. This 
was suspended right over the victim's 
head. The screws that fastened 



107 



CASTALLA 

Carrat's bedstead had been taken out, 
and, as he was in the habit of going to 
bed in the dark, he saw neither the 
collapsible couch nor the vase contain- 
ing the water for 'his second baptism. 
All the conspirators waited for a short 
while until he jumped into his bed, 
which at once gave way, and, as the 
string was pulled, cool streams 
descended upon him from above. 
Bruised and dripping the wretched 
man began to scream loudly, while 
naughty Hortense, to add to his 
misery, called out, ' Oh, mamma ! the 
frogs and toads in the water will fall 
on to his face ! ' This speech, uttered 
in the dark, only heightened Carrat's 
terror. He got very angry, and he 
exclaimed, * It is horrid, it is dis- 
graceful of you, madam, to play such 
tricks upon your servants ! ' I admit 
that his protests were not altogether 
unreasonable, but they only increased 
the mirth of these ladies who had thus 
made him a butt for their pleasantry." 

Castalla, Battle of. — A battle 
of the Peninsular War, fought on 
13 Apriil 1813 between an Anglo- 
Sicilian corps under Sir John Mur- 
ray and a French army under 
Suchet. The battle itself was in- 
decisive, but the French were forced 
to retreat. 

Castiglione, Battle of.— A battle 
-of N.'s first Italian campaign, whiclh 
took place on 3 Aug. 1796 between 
25,000 French under Augereau and 
the Imperialists under Wiirmser. 
After a desperate struggle for the 
'bridge of Castiglione, during which 
Augereau displayed the greatest 
bravery, the French were successful 
and eventually drove the Imperialists 
out of the town. After sustaining a 
loss of 2,000 men the Austrians retired 
towards Mantua. 

Castiereagh, Robert Stev\'art, 
Viscount (1769 - 1822); — British 
statesman, an Ulsterman by birth, 
who entered the Irish parliament in 
1790. He was Irish chief-secretary 
'Under Pitt (i 797-1 801), president of 
the board of control in Addington's 
ministry (1802), and war minister in 
1805-6 and 1807-9, I"- this latter 
•capacity he was largely blamed for 
the failure of the Walcheren expedi- 
tion, though perhaps less deserving of 



CATERINA 

blame than he is generally represented 
to be. In any case, his terms of office 
witnessed many more felicitous events, 
such as the bombardment of Copen- 
hagen and the seizure of the Danish 
fleet. In March 181 2 he became 
foreign secretary in Lord Uiverpool's 
miriistry, and conducted the campaign 
against N. with much vigour. As 
British representative he played a 
prominent part at the Congress of 
Vienna (18 15;), and later at that of 
Aix-la-Chapelle (1818). On 12 Aug. 
1822 Castlereagh, while insane, com- 
mitted suicide by stabbing himself 
with a penknife. Few ministers have 
been more heartily hated than Castle- 
reagh. N. himself seems to have had 
a very poor opinion of him, as evi- 
dence the following words from his 
Memorial : 

"Lord Castlereagh, pupil of Mr. 
Pitt, whose equal he perhaps believes 
himself, is at the most no better than 
a monkey : he continually follows up 
his master's plans and plots against 
France ; and his obstinacy and per- 
tinacity are perhaps his natural and 
only qualities. But Pitt had large 
views; he placed his country's welfare 
before everything; he had genius and 
creative power ; and from his island 
base he set agoing and directed at 
will the actions of the kings of Europe. 
Castlereagh, on the other hand, sub- 
stituted intrigue for creative power, 
subsidies for genius ; and, concerning 
himself but little with the good of his 
country, employed the credit and in- 
fluence of these continental monarchs 
to preserve his power in Britain. 
However — and such is the way of the 
world — Pitt, with all his genius, has 
repeatedly failed, and Castlereagh, the 
incapable, has succeeded ! " 

Caterina, " Mammuccia."— The 
nurse and governess of the young 
Buonapartes. She was with the family 
for many years, during the period of 
poverty and struggle was, indeed, 
Letizia's only and faithful assistant at 
one time, and affectionate mention of 
her is frequent in the famlily letters. 
N. spoke of her to Antommarchi at 
St. Helena. The occasion was when 
he had once been maintaining that 
Antommarchi's views on medical 
subjects were unorthodox, and he 



108 



CATHERINE 

proceeded : " You think I accuse you 
of presumption ; not at all. But you 
come from the Cape [the extreme 
north of Corsica] and you have the 
marks of your orig^in. Oh, I know 
you well, you Capocorsini. You are 
always dissatisfied, and see no good 
in anything- but your own work. I 
was ushered into the world in the 
arms of the old Mammuccia Caterina. 
So, you may see, I know what I am 
talking about. She was obstinate, 
captious and fault-finding, continually 
at war wlith all around her. She 
was always quarrelling, especially 
with my grandmother, though they 
were very fond of each other. They 
were continually nagging-; their dis- 
putes were interminable, and amused 
us very much. You look serious, 
doctor : the portrait displeases you. 
Never mind : if your compatriot was 
a shrew, she was affectionate and 
good; lit was she who took us for 
walks, cared for us, made us laugh, 
and all with a solicitude whose 
memory remains to this day. I still 
remember what tears she shed when 
I left Corsica for France, though it 
was forty years ago." 

Catherine of Wilrttemburg: 
(1783 - 1835).— Daughter of the King 
of Wiirttemburg, and the second wife 
of Jerome Bonaparte [q-v.). When 
the latter, at the Emperor's command, 
relinquished his American bride 
Elizabeth Patterson, the hand of the 
Princess Catherine was sought in mar- 
riage for Jerome, in pursuance of N.'s 
scheme of matrimonial alliances for 
dynastic purposes. 

The King of Wiirttemburg could but 
acquiesce in view of the fact that he 
owed his crown and the stability of his 
throne to N. At first the Princess re- 
fused the honour for two reasons — ^^her 
aversion to a French alliance, and also 
because she was already engaged to 
the Hereditary Grand Duke of Baden. 
After Austerlitz the demand was 
pressed and all other considerations 
had to give way before the grave 
political issues involved. On i6 Aug. 
1807 the Emperor announced the pro- 
jected marriage to the French Parlia- 
ment, also that the kingdom of West- 
phalia would constitute his wedding 
gift to Jerome and his bride. To the 



CATHERINE 

Princess Catherine N. sent some beau- 
tiful presents, as well as an affectionate 
letter of welcome in which he addressed 
her as " my dear sister. " According to 
custom the marriage was first cele- 
brated at Stuttgart by procuration, the 
brother of the Princess acting as proxy 
for Jerome. After this the bride pro- 
ceeded to Paris. On 22 Aug. the 
young couple were civilly united by 
Cambaceres, and on the 28th they were 
married at the Tuileries by the Prince 
Primate. 

The marriage proved to be a happy 
one despite Jerome's fickleness. His 
wife was affectionate and devoted, and 
loyal through all misfortune. On the 
downfall of N. the King- of Wiirttem- 
burg did his utmost to separate 
Catherine from her husband. This she 
strongly opposed. Her family refused 
to gfive way, and it was only from the 
Tsar that she could obtain passports 
to enable her to join her husband 
in Switzerland. A troubled journey 
lay before her, a journey during which 
she met the Emperor on his way to 
Elba, who on their meeting took her 
into his arms. Catherine wrote of 
this, "that mute embrace was eloquent, 
and revealed the feelings of a hero who 
had been betrayed." Afterwards, at 
St. Helena, N. left on record his esti- 
mate of the nobility of her character, 
saying that with her own hands she 
had inscribed her name in the pages 
of history. 

At the time of Waterloo Catherine 
was a prisoner in the hands of her 
father, whoi again tried to make her 
renounce her husband, whilst keeping- 
all news of Jerome, whether wounded 
or dead, from her anxious heart. As 
before, she answered all these importu- 
nities in a dignified and loyal, manner. 
At last Jerome was allowed to rejoin 
his wife, under certain restrictions, 
and they next took up their residence 
in Austria as the Comte and Comtesse 
de Montfort. In 1818 both husband 
and wife asked the British Govern- 
ment for permission to g-O' to St. 
Helena in order to be beside their 
brother, but met with refusal. 

This noble-minded woman died in 
1835 at a chateau on the shores of the 
Lake of Geneva, whither she had been 
removed for the sake of her health. 



109 



CAULAINCOURT 

By Jerome Queen Catherine had three 
children : Jerome Napoleon, who died 
in infancy. Princess Mathilde (q-v.), 
and Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul 
(q.v.). 

Caulaincouri, Armand Augustan 
Louis, Marquis de (1772-1827). 
— French g-eneral and diplomatist; 
was born of noble family at Caulain- 
court, near Laon, in Picardy, in 1772, 
and at the age of fifteen entered the 
military profession. In 1792, while 
yet a captain, he was thrown into 
prison because he had rendered him- 
self obnoxious to the democrats, and 
was only released on the condition that 
he would serve as a simple grenadier. 
Thisi he did for three years, at the end 
of which he was restored to his former 
rank. After taking part in twO' or three 
campaigns, in Italy and Germany, he 
obtained the rank of colonel of dra- 
goons, and was afterwards made aide- 
de-camp to Bonaparte. N. was not 
long in discovering Caulainoourt's 
talent for diplomacy, and on the acces- 
sion of Alexander he was dispatched to 
St. Petersburg to negotiate an under- 
standing between Russia and France. 
From this mission may be dated the 
esteem and confidence with which 
Bonaparte ever after honoured him. 

In 1804, Caulaincourt was made 
general of division, master of the 
horse. Grand Cross of the Legion of 
Honour, and not long afterwards Duke 
of Vicenza. It was rumoured, unjustly, 
however, that these honours were 
bestowed upon him in acknowledg- 
ment of his aid in the arrest of the 
Due d'Enghien (q.v.) — be having been 
an unwitting instrument in that affair 
— but Caulaincourt never ceased to 
affirm his innocence and utter ignor- 
ance of the instructions given to his 
colleague Ordener ; and it seems likely 
that his elevation was due only to his 
merit and attachment to N. 

Caulaincourt was appointed ambas- 
sador at St. Petersburg in 1807, where 
he filled a difficult position, and strove, 
successfully for some time, to main- 
tain peace. He was recalled, however, 
at his own request in 181 1, having 
probably foreseen the storm that was 
gathering, and being unwilling to be 
left in the alternative either of betray- 
ing his duties or being ungrateful for 



CAVALRY 

the many kindnesses shown him by the 
Tsar. He accompanied the Emperor 
on the 181 2 expedition in Russia, after 
vainly endeavouring to induce N. to 
give up this campaign. After the 
burning of Moscow N. chose him as 
companion in his flight, and for four- 
teen days and nights they travelled 
tete-a-tete on sledges or in carriages. 
During the declineof N. 's fortunes Cau- 
laincourt was employed to negotiate 
for a general peace with the Allied 
plenipotentiaries assembled at Chatil- 
lon. He had here to contend, single- 
handed, with the united diplomacy of 
victorious Europe. On the abdication 
of N, he went, as his personal repre- 
sentative, to the Allied sovereigns and 
negotiated the Treaty of Paris. Talley- 
rand (q-v.) would have included him in 
the provisional government, but he re- 
fused to desert his former chief. He 
is generally believed to have been privy 
to the return of N. from Elba in 181 5, 
and was one of the first to hail him at 
the Tuileries. During the Hundred 
Days he was placed at the helm of 
foreign affairs, though with reluctance, 
as he was convinced of the futility of 
all the efforts that could be made to 
establish, any diplomatic connexion. 
After the second Restoration Caulain- 
court went into retirement on his 
estate in the department of the Aisne, 
and died in the year 1827. 

From no one did N. hear more bold 
and useful truths than from this man. 
He often ventured to tell the Emperor 
that if he did not renounce his system 
of shedding blood he would be aban- 
doned by the French and precipitated 
from the throne by foreigners. But he 
was nevertheless the Emperor's good 
friend and most faithful servant; and 
that N. understood and appreciated his 
diplomatic gifts may be gathered from 
the many difficult missions with which 
he was entrusted. Indeed, during the 
last years of the Empire, Caulaincourt 
practically controlled the diplomacy of 
the court. 

Cavalry. — As has been pointed out 
in the article on Artillery (q.v.), N. 
usually employed cavalry to complete 
the rout made in the ranks of the 
enemy by a storm, of grapeshot. The 
first essential in the Napoleonic 
handling of cavalry was speed and 



no 



CAVALRY 

precision of manoeuvring- tO' ensure 
their arrival at the right time and 
place. N. selected beforehand the 
point at which he intended to direct 
them, and so could bring- them within 
strikingi distance at leisure. Again 
and again these tactics proved success- 
ful, but signally failed at Waterloo 
because of the heavy state of the 
ground, because the cavalry had to 
charge uphill, and because of the poor 
condition of the horses. 

On the whole the efficiency of N.'s 
cavalry officers was very high, their 
swordsmanship was excellent, and 
their esprit de corps likewise. 

In his Memoirs N. states that the 
administration of the corps of light 
cavalry depends upon that of the in- 
fantry. Light cavalry was instructed 
in tactics in the same manner as the 
cavalry of the line. They served as 
foragers, they were employed as ad- 
vance guards, as rear guards, and upon 
the wings of the army. The heavy 
cavalry were generally kept in reserve. 
The light cavalry were always, to some 
extent, under the protection of the 
cavalry of the line. "Cavalry," says 
N., "requires a greater number of 
officers than infantry, and they have to 
be more specifically instructed in their 
duties." It was not swiftness alone 
which ensured the success of this arm, 
it was order, discipline, and the clever 
use of its services. In a general en- 
gagement its office was to guard re- 
tirements, undertake pursuits, and 
operate on the changing front, as well 
as upon the wings, with rapidity. 
But the duty of a cavalry advance 
guard does not really consist in 
advancing or retiring, but in 
manoeuvring. It should consist of a 
force of light cavalry with a good re- 
serve of cavalry of the line, backed by 
battalions of infantry and several 
batteries of artillery. Officers and 
soldiers should equally be apprised of 
the tactics in view ; a troop which is 
not so instructed is merely an em- 
barrassment to an advancei guard. N. 
proceeds to say that all the cavalry 
of the line should not be equipped with 
cuirasses. Thus the dragoons were 
not so protected, but were armed with 
an infantryman's musket and bayonet, 
and wore the shako of the infantry 



CHAMPAGNY 

and the cloak with sleeves. All 
cavalry should be provided with fire- 
arms and know how to manoeuvre on 
foot ; three thousand cavalrymen 
should not be held up by a thousand 
infantrymen posted in a wood or lin 
country impracticable to mounted 
men. 

The cavalry attached to an army 
should be about one-fourth of the 
number of infantry, and should con- 
sist of four descriptions of horsemen — 
light cavalry, heavy cavalry, cuiras- 
siers, and drag-oons, who were prac- 
tically mounted infantry. Cavalry 
charges are of most effect at the com- 
mencement, in the middle, and at the 
end of a battle, and should be 
executed on the flanks, while the in- 
fantry charges in front. As showing 
the great importance which N, 
attached to cavalry, he made the 
excuse of "want of adequate cavalry " 
when he agreed to a six weeks' sus- 
pension of arms during the Allies' 
campaign of 1813. This has been 
alluded to as the gravest military error 
of his whole career. 

Cayenne. — The capital of French 
Guiana. This seaport was taken by 
the British from the French on the 
collapse of N.'s naval plans in 1809. 

Champagny, Jean Baptiste 
Nompere de (1756-1834-). — Duke 
of Cadore, French politician; was 
born of noble family at Roanne-en- 
Forez, in 1756, and was educated for 
the naval profession. In 1789, how- 
ever, he was returned by the noblesse 
of Forez as their deputy to the States- 
General, later passing into the 
Chamber of the Tiers-fitat. While a 
member he confined his labours espe- 
cially to subjects connected with the 
improvement of the French marine ; 
and on the Assembly having termi- 
nated their sittings in 1791 he returned 
into private life. In 1799 N. made 
him councillor of state for the depart- 
ment of the navy, and later sent him 
to Vienna as ambassador. 

In 1804 Champagny became 
minister of the interior, and during 
the three years for which he held this 
office showed himself to be the posses- 
sor of great administrative ability. 
According to some authorities, how- 
ever, Champagny did not use his 



III 



CHAM P-AU BERT 

powers worthily, and it is said his 
official career was distinguished by 
mendacity, perfidy, injustice, and 
spoliation. However this may be, he 
succeeded Talleyrand {q.v.) as minister 
for foreig-n affairs in 1807, and assisted 
N. in the enforcement of the con- 
tinental system. Besides his ordinary 
duties he directed the recruitment of 
the army, organized the industrial ex- 
hibition of 1808, and completed the 
public works undertaken in Paris and 
all over France. He helped to plan 
the annexation of the Papal States and 
the abdication of Charles IV. of Spain. 
In connexion with the latter, Southey 
states in his Peninsular War that 
Champagny in one of his reports laid 
down the principle, "that which policy 
rendered necessary, justice must, of 
course, authorize" — a despicable prin- 
ciple, but one which it has been de- 
monstrated more than a hundred years 
later may still be used on the side of 
might. 

In 1808 Champagny became a mem- 
ber of the new nobility with the title 
of Duke of Cadore, He was also con- 
cerned in the negotiations for the 
peace of Vienna (1809) and N.'s mar- 
riage with Marie Louise of Austria; 
but in 181 1 he was deprived of his 
portfolio, owing, it is believed, tO' a 
disagreement with the Emperor. 
During the regency he filled the office 
of secretary, but on N.'s abdication in 
1 81 4 he joined; the Bourbons, and was 
made a peer by Lx)'uis. In spite of 
this, however, it is said he was im- 
plicated in N.'s return from Elba, and 
there is no doubt that he joined N. 
during the Hundred Days, accepting, 
since he was offered no other, the 
minor position of surveyor of public 
buildings. For this conduct he 
naturally lost his peerage on the 
second Restoration, but in 1819 re- 
covered this dignity. He died in 1834 
at Paris. 

Champ - Aubert, Battle of. — 
One of N.'s most brilliant achieve- 
ments from a military point of 
view. On 10 Feb. 1814 N., with his 
main army, fell upon one of the three 
divisions of Bliicher's army and com- 
pletely dispersed it, taking 2,000 
prisoners and all the guns ; on the nth 
he met Sacken and defeated him at 



CHARLES X 

Montmirail with a loss of 6,000 ; on 
the 13th he encountered General 
Yorck with 30,000 Russians and' 
Prussians, and succeeded in driving 
him out of Chateau Thierry with a 
loss of 3,000 ; and finally he attacked 
on the 14th the main army under 
Blijcher, and compelled him to retire 
with 3,000 casualties. 

Chandelier, Jacques. — A cook 
at Longwood. He had been in the 
service of the Princess Borghese, suc- 
ceeded Laroche, and arrived at St. 
Helena in Sept. 1819. It is said that 
he gave great satisfaction as a chef. 

Charlemagne. — During the earlier 
part of his reign, one of the chief 
ambitions of N. appears to have been 
the reconstitution of the ancient 
empire of Charlemagne, which spread 
itself not only over France but over 
a large part of Germany and Spain as 
well. It will thus be seen that N. con- 
sidered the empire of Charles the 
Great tO' be an institution essentially 
French, whereas in our own day the 
ex-Kaiser seems to have regarded it as 
essentially Teutonic. Inasmuch as it 
was Prankish, it was, of course, 
originally German, but even in 
Merovingian times a process of disin- 
tegration had begun, and by the era of 
Charlemagne the central power was 
rather more Gallic than German, the 
bulk of the Germanic races of that day 
being pagans who constantly threat- 
ened the essentially Christian civiliza- 
tion which Charlemagne did so much 
to preserve. It is therefore hardly 
correct to regard the Carlovingian 
era as the outcome of Teutonic 
civilization, so that N. had a better 
case than William II. 

Charles X. (1757-1836). — King 
of France, brother of Louis XVI. and 
grandson of Louis XV. ; was born at 
Versailles on 9 Oct. 1757. When 
only sixteen years of age he was 
married to Marie Th^r^se of Savoy, 
and for some years lived an exceed- 
ingly dissipated life — the enormous 
debt (56 millions of francs) which he 
accumulated during this period becom- 
ing a burden on an already over- 
burdened state. At the court of France 
he led the party which opposed 
revolutionary principles, and took 
command of the first band of emigrant 



CHARLES 

royalists, later vlisiting* several of the 
courts of Europe with the object of 
raising- sympathy with the royalist 
cause. In 1793 he was made lieu- 
tenant-g^eneral of the realm, and be- 
came known as "Monsieur." He 
sympathized with and tried to help the 
Vend^an rising- of 1795, but feared to 
take a prominent piart. Ere long he 
crossed to Great Britain, living- first 
in London, then at Holyrood Palace, 
Edinburgh, and finally at Hartwell, 
where he remained until 1813, the 
various conspiracies which were set on 
foot for royalist restoration in France 
bearing- no fruit. After N.'s abdica- 
tion in 1 81 4 he returned to Paris, and 
while his brother (Louis XVIILJ sat 
on the throne of France Charles was 
the chief of the ultra-royalist party. 
On the death of Louis XVIIL in Sept. 
1824 he became king", and for a time 
was much in favour; but it soon be- 
came apparent that he meant to restore 
the " absolute " rule of former French 
kingfs. The feeling which this inten- 
tion aroused culminated in the revolu- 
tion of 1830, and Charles was com- 
pelled to leave France, his flight beings 
accomplished with the dig-nity which 
characterized all his actions. He lived 
at Holyrood Palace for a time, dying- 
of cholera at Goritz in 1826. 

Charles (Karl Ludwig) (1771-1847). 
— Archduke of Austria, third son of 
the Emperor Leopold H. ; was born at 
Florence when his father was Grand 
Duke of Tuscany. He fought as a 
young* officer in the war of the French 
Revolution, commanded a brig-ade at 
Jemappes, and saw service in the cam- 
paig-n of 1793, at the action of Alden- 
hoven, and elsewhere. During the 
rest of the war he held hig-h com- 
mands, and was present at Fleurus. 
In 1796 he took supreme command of 
the Austrian forces at the Rhine, 
operating- against Moreau and Jour- 
dan, his military reputation achieving 
a very high standard indeed. He de- 
feated Jourdan at Amberg and Wurz- 
burg, and forced him to execute a 
disastrous retreat into France, then 
turning upon Moreau he inflicted such 
a reverse upon him that his efforts to 
disengage himself amounted almost to 
a flight. This campaign has fre- 
quently been alluded to as one of the 



CHARLES 

most brilliant in modern history. In 
1797 he was sent to stay the onward 
career of N. in Italy, and though he 
was outmatched in numbers he con- 
ducted his operations with masterly 
skill. Once more he faced Jourdan in 
1799, and was further successful 
against him at Osterach and Stockach, 
afterwards invading Switzerland and 
defeating Mass^na in the first battle of 
Zurich. Subsequently to this he re- 
entered Germany and again drove the 
French across the Rhine, but failing 
health reacted upon his abilities, and 
he retired to Bohemia, returning to his 
military duties after a brief rest in 
order to oppose Moreau 's advance on 
Vienna. But the crushing defeat of 
Hohenlinden left him no option but to 
fight with the weapons of diplomacy 
at the armistice of Steyer. The 
highest honours were preferred him, 
but he refused them all, among them 
the title of "Saviour of his Country." 
In 1805 he commanded the main army 
in Italy. He obtained a success over 
Massena at the battle of Caldiero, but 
the reverses of other Austrian leaders 
on the Danube went far to neutralize 
this. When peace was concluded,, 
however, he laboured strenuously at 
the reorganization of the army. His 
newly trained forces were first tested 
in 1809. He was now field-marshal 
and president of the council of war, 
and was the only Austrian general 
who had proved his ability to defeat 
the French. This success, especially 
in his late campaigns, is probably due 
to the fact that he employed to some 
extent the French methods of tactics. 
When the new Austrian Army took 
the field in 1809 it had not yet under- 
gone the full curriculum of training 
that he had mapped out for it, yet it 
had many more excellencies than its 
predecessor, and was beaten only after 
a most desperate resistance. It 
achieved one noteworthy success, the 
battle of Aspern-Essling, and made a 
notable stand at Wagram. At the end 
of this campaign the Archduke retired 
from the army and spent the rest of 
his life privately. He succeeded to the 
duchy of Saxe-Teschen in 1822. In 
181 5 he had married the Princess 
Henrietta of Nassau- Weilburg, and 
had four sons, the eldest of who'm, the 



"3 



CHARLES 

Archduke Albert, inherited his father's 
military gifts in a striking- degree. 

Charles was the author of a number 
of strategical works in whlich he laid 
down the necessity for caution in the 
conduct of a campaign ; yet in practice 
he was not without much daring, and 
he may be said to have possessed a 
degree of tactical genius in handling 
troops second only to that of Napoleon 
himself. He was, however, rigid in 
his ideas concerning strategy, and at 
the close of his military career had 
become perhaps not a little old- 
fashioned. It must also be pointed 
out that he did not always adhere to 
the rules of caution he so strongly 
advocated. He lays down the law that 
it is not the defeat of the enemy's army 
which decides the fate of one's own 
country, but strategic points, which 
must constantly remain the general's 
main solicitude, and Clausewitz re- 
proached ihim in the phrase that he 
attached more value to ground than to 
the annihilation of the foe. His in- 
fluence was felt in the Austrian Army, 
even so late as tTie days of the Austro- 
Prussian war. Indeed, his theory was 
greatly divorced from his practice and 
much inferior to it in every respect. 
At the same time his dicta regarding 
the value of sound strategical conclu- 
sions have, to a great extent, been 
borne out by the circumstances of the 
late war. 

Charles; Hippolyte. —A young 
French officer in the army of Italy, 
was attached to Lucien's staff, and 
later became aide-de-camp to Leclerc. 
Dispatched to meet Josephine on her 
arrival at Milan, he was graciously re- 
ceived, given a seat in the carriage, 
and was forthwith made constantly 
welcome at the Serbelloni Palace. On 
the intimacy coming to the ears of 
Bonaparte, Charles was dismissed to 
France. Josephine secured for him a 
remunerative connexion with the com- 
missariat, and after her return to 
France and the purchase of Mal- 
maison, Charles was installed in 
attendance there. Rumours of the re- 
lations existing between Josephine and 
the young officer reached Bonaparte in 
Egypt, and led him to consider 
seriously the question of obtaining a 
divorce. 



CHATEAUBRIAND 

Charlottenburg, Convention of. 

— After the rout of the Prussians at 
Jena N. refused to grant them an 
armistice save on their compliance 
with certain exorbitant demands. 
Thus he asked that the French be 
allowed to occupy the territory be- 
tween the Oder and the Vistula, that 
various fortresses on the Vistula 
should be given up to him, and that 
the Russian troops should be dis- 
missed. The Prussian envoys, utterly 
crushed and servile, accepted the de- 
grading terms, and on i6 Nov. 1806 
a convention was signed at Charlotten- 
burg. But the King of Prussia, fear- 
ing the withdrawal of Russia from the 
alliance, refused to ratify the conven- 
tion at a council held at Osterode on 
21 Nov. 1806. 

T Charvet, Louise.— Wife of Con- 
stant (q.v.) and daughter of the keeper 
of the Palace of Malmaison. 

Chateaubriand, Francois Ren6, 
Vicomtede (1768-1848).— This author 
and diplomat, one of the most interest- 
ing figures in the France of N.'s day, 
was the youngest son of the Comte de 
Combourg, and was born in 1768 at 
St. Malo, in Brittany, a region whose 
denizens are proverbially of imagina- 
tive if not aesthetic temperament. His 
parents desiring that he should take 
holy orders, he studied for a while at 
the College of Dinan; but, realizing 
soon that he had no inclination for the 
priesthood, he gladly accepted in 1786 
the offer of a commission in the 
French Army, Three years later the 
Revolution broke out, and Chateau- 
briand, being at this time an ardent 
royalist, found it advisable to leave 
France for America. On his return 
to France in 1791 he was married to 
Celeste B'uisson de Lavigne, with 
whom he now wandered to Brussels, 
to Guernsey, and then to England. 
During this period of travel he com- 
menced writing, and the year 1797 saw 
the publication of his book, Essai his- 
torique, politique et moral sur les 
revolutions; while in 1800 he went 
back to his native country, and in 1802 
he issued one of the most important of 
his writings, G6nie du Chris tianis me. 
The general tenor of this last being 
curiously favourable to N.'s particular 
manner of statecraft, the writer was 



IL4 



CHATEAUBRIAND 

made attach^ to the French legation 
at Rome ; and, though he was recalled 
soon afterwards owing to an act of in- 
subordination, ihe was sent subse- 
quently as envoy to the canton of the 
Valais. Then, in 1806, he visited 
Palestine, a tour which at, a later date 
he described in a book, Itineraire de 
Paris a Jdrusalem; but meanwhile he 
had conceived a violent aversion to 
Bonaparte, nor was it long ere he 
began to express this dislike fearlessly. 
He had become part-owner of the 
Mercure de France, a journal whlioh 
to this day enjoys a reputation for 
speaking freely, and in 1807 he pub- 
lished in its columns an article in 
which the Emperor was compared to 
Nero. So great was the turmoil created 
by this affair that in 181 1, when 
Chateaubriand was elected a onember 
of the French Academy, forcible steps 
were taken to prevent him reading an 
essai de reception to its members, it 
being known that the paper which he 
had prepared contained certain critical 
allusions to N. 

The year 1814, so memorable for all 
Europe, was also an important one for 
Chateaubriand, for in that year he 
issued his book De Bonaparte, des 
Bourbons, et de la necessite de se 
rallier a nos princes legitimes, a piece 
of wiiiting wthich Louis XVIII. de- 
clared was as valuable an aid to the 
royal cause as a regiment of a hun- 
dred) thousand soldiers could possibly 
have been. And though, only a little 
while after this, in his De la monarchie 
selon la charte, Ohateaubriand showed 
that his devotion to royalty was be- 
giinning to wane, he was sent to 
Berlin as French ambassador in 182 1, 
and in the following year acted 
as a plenipotentiary at the Congress 
of Vienna. In 1827, again, he enacted 
a diplomatic function at Rome; but 
this was his last service to the state, 
and thenceforth, until his death iin 
1848, most of his time was spent 
virtually in seclusion, Mme. R^camier 
beling the one friend whom he saw con- 
stantly. During the last quiet years, 
however, Chateaubriand was far from 
idle ; and, besides writing a large part 
of those memoirs of himself wlhich 
were published posthumously, he 
achieved a French translation of 



CHAUMONT 

Paradise Lost, Milton being a poet 
for whom he had always had a 
special fondness. 

I>evout Roman Catlholic as he was, 
Chateaubriand appears to have been 
somewhat amorously inclined; yet his 
writings have much of that curious 
severity, alike as regards temper and 
style, which pertains so essentially to 
nearly all the painting and nearly all 
the sculpture of the French Empire. 
His works, so well known while he 
was alive, do not seem to be read 
much nowadays ; and the author is 
remembered rather by virtue of his 
championing of the Bourbon cause, 
by his determined confronting of N., 
and by ihis friendship with Mme. 
Recamier and other luminaries of 
Bonaparte's day. 

Chatillon, Conference of (1814). 
— Opened on 5 Feb. between the Allies 
and N., shortly after the Frankfort 
Proposals (q-v.). At this time the 
Allies were working together 'in a 
far from harmonious manner, and 
Castlereagh was sent from England 
to improve the entente, if possible, 
and take part in the negotiations. 
The Tsar, the King of Prussia, Met- 
ternich. Stein and others took part, 
Caulaincourt representing France. 
On the 7th the terms of peace were 
set forth, and included : (i) that 
France was to give up all conquered 
territories in Europe and shrink to her 
pre-revolutionary boundaries; (2) that 
England would restore some colonies 
by way of compensation. These con- 
ditions exceeded the former proposals 
at Frankfort, and although willing to 
accept the latter, N. could not bring 
himself to acquiesce in the present 
terms. Caulaincourt' s powers of 
acceptance were limited, and no 
authoriity having come by 11 March, 
in spite of all his endeavours, th|e 
Conference was closed — N.'s note 
giving Caulaincourt carte hlanche 
arriving too late. The principal 
effect of the Conference was to bring 
about a greatly improved understand- 
ing between the Allies. See Chau- 
MONT, Treaty of. 

Chaumont, Treaty of (9 March 
1814). — As the result of the Conference 
at Chatillon (q.v.) the internal rela- 
tions of the Coalition (Great Britain, 



"5 



CHENIER 

Austria, Russia and Prussia) ag-ainst 
N. became much more amicable, and 
this improvement took tang^ible shape 
in the form of the Treaty of Chau- 
mont. Its conditions were : (i) the 
above-named Powers agreed not to 
conclude a separate peace, but to 
prosecute tlhe campaig'n until France 
was reduced to her former size ; (2) 
the amount of each Power's liability 
as reg^ards men was defined ; (3) Great 
Britain guaranteed financial aid ; (4) 
the campaig'n was to be offensive or 
defensive as necessity required ; (5) 
meeting's were to be held from time 
to time between the representatives 
of the Allies ; (6) the political reunion 
of the Netherlands was considered. 
This treaty was signed on 9 March 
by Metternich, Nessehode, Castle- 
reagh, and Hardenberg ; and was in 
effect of the nature of an alliance 
between Powers who had each taken 
the field to suit its own necessities, 
but who now united against the 
common foe. 

Ch^nier, Joseph Marie Blaise 
de (1764 -tail). — French poet and 
dramatist ; was born at Constan- 
tinople, where his father was French 
consul-general. He received a com- 
mission in a dragoon regiment at the 
early age of sixteen, but in 1789 re- 
tired from the army and came to 
Paris, where his celebrated tragedy 
of Charles IX was produced at the 
Theatre Frangaise on 4 Nov. 1789. 
He had some influence in favour of 
the Revolution. In 1792 he was 
elected to the Convention, voted for 
the death of the King, and committed 
many extravagances. But at this time 
he was also writing the well-known 
Chant du Depart and other patriotic 
poems. He was accused of being an 
accomplice in the condemnation and 
execution of his brother Andre, but 
he succeeded in clearing himself of 
this charge if not of one of cowardice. 
He became a thermidorian, in 1795 
was admitted to the institute and was 
elected a member of the Council of 
Five Hundred. He joined in the coup 
d'etat of Brumaire, and was appointed 
to the Tribunat by special desire of 
N. lin Dec. 1799. There he showed 
himself one of the most inveterate 
opponents of the overnment and was 



CHOUANS 

eliminated by the Senate in 1802. He 
was then appointed to the education 
department. He incurred the violent 
anger of N. by his Epitre a Voltaire 
(1806) and his tragedy of Cyrus, which 
was produced immediately before the 
coronation. His plays were prohibited 
from performance, and he was reduced 
to lecturing in a private school. Lat- 
terly N. bestowed upon him a pension 
of 8,000 francs, but he died in con- 
siderable want. 

Cliinese Servant.— Josephine took 
a fancy to a little deformed Chinese 
dwarf, who chanced to be the only 
Chinaman in France. She took him 
into her service, and he was usually 
to be seen perched behind her car- 
riage. He accompanied her to Italy, 
but as he was in the constant habit 
of pilfering she wished to get rid of 
him, and N. took him with him on his 
Egyptian expedition. He was en- 
trusted with the General's wine- 
cellar, but no sooner had N. crossed 
the desert than the little Chinaman 
sold no less than two thousand 
bottles of claret at a very low price. 
On N.'s return he came eagerly to 
meet him, and acquainted him, as he 
said, like a faithful servant, with the 
loss of the wine. In the end he con- 
fessed the robbery, and although N. 
was urged to hang him, he contented 
himself with discharging him and 
sending him to Suez. 

Chouans. — The name given to the 
smugglers and dealers in contraband 
salt, who, riising in insurrection in 
western France, joined forces with the 
royalists of La Vendee at the period 
of the Revolution. The word, a cor- 
ruption of the Bas Breton chat-htuint 
(screech-owl) was g^iven as a nickname 
to the four brothers Cottereau, who 
imitated the cry of that bird in order 
to recognise each other in the woods 
by night when on their smuggling 
expeditions. Jean Cottereau (1767- 
94), the eldest of the brothers and 
famous for his wild courage and 
physical strength, was originally an 
illegal manufacturer of salt, and with 
the others of the family had several 
times been caught and punished. 
The Revolution, in sweeping away 
the inland customs, destroyed the 
contraband trade. This was the 



116 



CHOUANS 

cause of the Chouans' rising'; not 
any devotion to the King or his 
cause, as some romantic writers have 
endeavoured to establish, especially in 
their glorification of Jean Cottereau 
as a hero and martyr. Their warfare 
was revenge pure and simple, also a 
means of livelihood, their devotion to 
pillage being far greater than to 
royalty. In 1792, on 15 Aug., Got- 
tereau and Ms following endeavoured 
to hold up the volunteers of St. Ouen 
near Laval. They took up their 
quarters in the woods of Misdon, 
living lin caves and huts, being joined 
by the malcontents of other districts 
and many royalists. Assassination 
and brigandage were the terms applic- 
able to their methods. From Lower 
Maine the disaffection soon included 
Brittany, the whole of Lower Nor- 
mandy, Anjou and Touraine, and 
other provinces were sympathetic. 
The original band of five hundred 
had increased to a great strength, 
and became known as the army of 
La Petite Vendee. After the defeats 
of Le Mans and Savenay the Misdon 
woods were again their headquarters, 
from which they carried on a guenilla 
warfare. It was here their leader, 
Jean, fell intO' an ambuscade and re- 
ceived his death-wound, dying in Feb. 
1794. Two of his brothers also fell, 
Rene alone surviving until 1846. After 
the action at Quiberon and the defeat 
of the Vendeans the Chouans treated 
with the Republic, and finally made 
their peace with the Directory, though 
small bands of them still continued 
their raiding and pillaging. These 
were reinforced by the remnants of 
the Vend^an forces, which gave them 
leaders whose attachment to royalty 
has shed on their wild following and 
their methods an undeserved glory. 
About the end of 1799 the party was 
again of a considerable strength, and 
boasted for leaders and chiefs, Frott^, 
Bourmont, Georges Gadoudal (q.v.), 
d'Autidhamp, Ghatillon, Lapr6vallaye 
and a man who was known by the 
name of Jambe d'Argent. Each chief 
had a district where he recruited and 
where he commanded those who were 
willing to join. This was called his 
government, though it might be 
covered with hostile troops and the 



CINTRA 

majority of the inhabitants against 
him. Their warfare was marked by 
many atrocious acts of ferocity and 
rapine. Under Bonaparte's orders 
negotiations were opened up with the 
Ghouans, but finding them using the 
truce for treacherous purposes, he 
resumed hostilities against them, and 
about the end of Jan. 1800 the leaders 
accepted the conditions proposed to 
them and laid down their arms ; 
the rest were dispersed. Their con- 
spiracies, however, persisted until 
1814 owing to royalist activities, and 
during the Hundred Days they joined 
in the Vend^an War, the repression 
of which weakened N.'s available 
forces for the northern campaign. 

Christophe, Henri (1767-1820).— 
King of Hayti ; was born a slave in 
the island of Grenada on 6 Oct. 1767. 
He was a man of gigantic stature and 
immense courage, so that when at 
Hayti he joined in the insurrection of 
1791 he soon took a leader's place, 
and, attracting the notice and approval 
of Toussaint I'Ouverture (q.v.), was 
appointed brigadier-general. In 1802 
he conducted a gallant defence of 
Gape Hayti against the French. With 
Potion {q.v.) he overthrew Dessalines 
in 1806, and the following year was 
made president. Givil war ensued 
between the two conspirators, and 
one result of the conflict was the 
formation of two states, that in the 
north a kingdom under Christophe 
with the title of Henry I., and the 
one in the south a republic under 
Petion. Christophe ruled with vigour 
and less savagely than Dessalines, but 
his avarice, cruelty and tyranny led to 
an insurrection, when, deserted by his 
army, he shot himself in despair on 
8 Oct. 1820. 

Cintra, Convention of (30 Aug. 
1808). — After the defeat of the French 
at Vimiero (21 Aug.) Junot opened 
negotiations with Sir Hew Dalrymple 
(who was in chief command of the 
Allies) with a view to the evacuation 
of Portugal by the French troops. 
Taking into consideration the fact 
that his army had met with severe 
treatment, Junot's conditions were 
exceedingly arbitrary : (i) the French 
were not to become prisoners of war ; 
(2) they were to be transported to 



117 



CIPRIANI 

France with all their effects (which 
included much booty;); (3) any who 
remained were not to be molested, 
but were to be free to leave at any 
time within a year; (4) Lisbon was 
to be considered neutral, and the 
Russian fleet, which lay there, were 
to be treated as bellig-erent vessels 
in a neutral port; {5) all the horses 
were also to be conveyed to France. 
These terms, excepting: the last, were 
ag-reed to by Dalrymple ; and by the 
middle or end of Sept. Portugal was 
free from French troops. The condi- 
tions of the Convention were received 
with much indignation both in Por- 
tugal and England — while to the 
French the need of such an agreement 
came as a suggestion that the war in 
the Peninsula was not tending towards 
the further glorification of their arms. 

Cipfiani.— The maitre d'hotel at 
Longwood. Seized with sudden ill- 
ness while attending at dinner one 
day, he died shortly afterwards, on 
26 Feb. 1818. He enjoyed the con- 
fidence of N. to a considerable degree. 

Cisalpine Republic— A political 
division of northern Italy during the 
Napoleonic era, comprising' (as it was 
finally constituted) the disti^ict between 
Lake Como and Verona on the north 
and Rimini on the south. N., com- 
manding the French Army during the 
Italian campaign of 1796-97, did much 
to encourage the formation of a re- 
public in the northern states, and 
gscve his patronage to the Cispadane 
Republic, founded by the people of 
Regg-io, Modena, and Bologna on 
16 Oct. 1796. The Lombards, 
especially, groaned under the yoke 
of Austrlian misrule, and hailed Bona- 
parte as their deliverer. During his 
few months of residence at the castle 
of Montebello, or Mombello, in the 
summer of 1797, he called together 
the leading men of Milan, and asked 
them to draw up a suitable constitu- 
tion. Following this there was insti- 
' tuted on 9 July 1797 the Transpadane 
Republic, which shortly afterwards 
changed its name to the Cisalpine 
Republic. On 15 July the union took 
place of the Cisalpine and Cispadane 
Republics ; a month later the Swiss 
territoiry of the Valtelline was included 
under the same government ; while by 



CISALPINE 

the Treaty of Campo Formio (17 Oct. 
1797) the frontiers of the Cisalpine 
were extended to the banks of the 
Adige. Here, as elsewhere, Bona- 
parte had a settled policy, apparent 
in the various details of his organ- 
ization. He desired by careful ad- 
ministration to satisfy the people, 
and yet, by giving authority into the 
hands of no one party, to preserve 
the republic dependent on France. 
Toi this end the constitution was 
modelled on the French Directory, 
and N. himself appointed the first 
deputies and administrators. The 
leg"islative assembly was practically 
voiceless, the real power being vested 
in the French agent, General Petiet, 
and an executive committee of nine 
members (the number was subse- 
quently reduced to three). The 
financial condition of the Cisalpine 
was for a time deplorable. Heavy 
requisitions in money and in kind 
were made by the French treasury, 
and the republic was called upon to 
maintain the French army of occupa- 
tion. 

In 1801, after the Peace of Lune- 
ville (which definitely placed the Cisal- 
pine under the protection of France) 
N. announced that he purposed to 
reorganize the state on a permanent 
basis. The constitution which he pro- 
posed to submit to the Cisalpine was 
planned after the fashion of the French 
Consular Government. In the first 
place, the various bodies were to be 
chosen by a body of electors divided 
into three colleges — the proprietors, 
the learned classes, and the trading 
classes. A president and vice-presi- 
dent were to be charged with the 
executive authority, aided by a con- 
sulta of eight members ; a court was 
to be established to maintain basic 
laws ; while a legislative council of ten 
members, and a legislative assembly 
of seventy-five (the former to discuss 
new legislation and the latter merely 
for the purpose of countersigning such 
laws as were passed) completed the 
constitution. N. showed the draft 
to four of the most prominent of 
the republicans — Melzi, Marescalchi, 
Aldini and Serbelloni — and left it to 
their consideration. It was passed 
with scarcely any alteration, sub- 

118 



CISALPINE 

mitted to the consulta at Milan and 
adopted by that body. At the begin- 
ning- of 1802 the First Consul invited 
454 deputies from the Cisalpine Re- 
public to a consulta at Lyons, in 
order that they might choose officlials 
under the new constitution. These, 
however, were tutored beforehand in 
the course they were expected to 
fo'llow, and despite the protests of 
the more democratic the will of N. 
was not seriously interfered with 
until the question of the election of 
a president was raised. The deputies 
nominated Count Melzi, the leading* 
statesman of the republic, but N. 
protested strongly against Melzi '9 
appointment — why, the Lombards 
could not understand, till Talleyrand 
sugg-ested that they should nominate 
N. himself. The First Consul readily 
accepted the position, giving as his 
reason that he knew of no Lombard 
statesman who was qualified to hold 
the office. 

Had the Lombards been left to their 
own devices they would undoubtedly 
have chosen a president from their 
own country. In order, therefore, to 
appease their not unnatural disappoint- 
ment N. announced at the last sit- 
ting of the consulta at Lyons that the 
Cisalpine would henceforth be known 
as the Italian Republic, a statement 
which, with its underlying promise of 
a united Italy, was received with the 
g-reatest enthusiasm. Count Melzi 
was elected vice-president, but his 
authority was purely nominal. The 
legislature, too, was entirely subordi- 
nate to the executive body ; and as 
the latter existed merely to express 
the will of N., the government was 
to all intents autocratic. The new 
regime promised well at the outset ; 
within a year the various state de- 
partments were put in motion ; the 
maintenance of the French army of 
occupation was placed on a more 
satisfactory basis, and the financial 
strain was eased somewhat ; while 
Melzi, though himself of liberal 
tendencies, faithfully administered 
the constitution, and overcame the 
opposition of the nobles and clergy. 
A national army was created, military 
schools being set up at Pavia and 
Modena, and the fostering of educa- 



CLARKE 

tion was no mean part of the govern- 
ment's achievements. Yet in spite of 
these advantages discontent grew ever 
more bitter. There was no sense of 
unity among* the various states; the 
districts south of the Po chafed under 
the Milanese supremacy, and gave but 
little support to the vice-president ; the 
people demanded the withdrawal of the 
army of occupation. Melzi, though a 
man of gentle and attractive disposi- 
tion, lacked the qualities of statesman- 
ship necessary to cope with suoh a 
situation. Moreover, Murat, who 
commanded the French army lin the 
republic and sent frequent reports to 
N., contrived to give him; the impres- 
sion that Melzi himself was a mal- 
content and a traitor to France. N. 
was enraged at this, and seized upon 
the first opportunity which presented 
itself {i.e., the publication of some 
patriotic sonnets by an Italian soldier- 
poet, Ceroni,) to rebuke him severely. 
Melzi tendered his resignation, which, 
however, Bonaparte declined to accept. 
Indeed, the First Consul planned to 
knit Italy still more closely to France, 
and until he saw his way to accom- 
plish this it was to his interests that 
Melzi should remain. 

In 1804 N. conceived the project 
of replacing the Italian Republic by 
a kingdom to be ruled over by his 
brother Joseph. Joseph, however, de- 
clined the proffered dignity, and N, 
himself, who was being pressed by the 
leading Milanese statesmen to assume 
the royal office, finally agfreed to do 
so. On 26 May 1805 he proceeded to 
Milan and assumed the iron crown of 
Lombardy, and on 7 June he gave vice- 
regal authority to Eugene Beauharnais 
(q.v.). 

Ciudad Rodrigo, Siege of.— The 
siege of this town, the garrison of 
which consisted of 18,000 men, was 
commenced by Wellington with an 
army of 40,000 combined English and 
Portuguese troops on 8 Jan. 1812, and 
was carried by assault on the i8th. 
The besiegers lost 1,300 killed and 
wounded, including Generals Crauford 
and McKinnon, while the French lost 
300 killed and wounded, 1,500 
prisoners and 150 guns. 

Clarke, Henri Jacques Guil- 
laume (1765 - 1818). — Duke of 



119 



CLARKE 

Feltre, French general ; was born at 
Landrecies on 17 Oct. 1765, his family 
beingf of Irlislh extraction. Clarke was 
destined for the army, and was 
educated at the military school of 
Paris. At an early age he entered the 
service of the Duke of Orleans, obtain- 
ing- the rank of supernumerary- 
captain in the Duke's regiment of 
hussars, and during the early stages 
of the Revolution made himself sub- 
servient to the political principles of 
that prince. He received various 
appointments in the army, and under 
the Directory was placed at the head 
of the topographical department of the 
war ministry, thus becoming ac- 
quainted with everything that related 
to the military plans of the republic. 
In 1796 he was sent as an envoy to 
Vienna, and afterwards to Italy, to 
look into the military and political 
situation and if possible arrange terms 
of peace. At the same time he had 
secret instructions to keep an eye on 
N., who, however, readily saw 
through this ruse. Clarke, having 
conce^ived a great admiration for N., 
confessed everything and offered his 
services to Bonaparte. These were 
accepted, and N. kept him in Italy 
and employed him in various ways. 
After the Revolution in 1799, he was 
recalled to France by N. and appointed 
councillor of state, and later ambassa- 
dor to the court of Etruria. On his 
return to Paris he was reinstated in 
the topographical department, had 
apartments given him at the Tuileries, 
and was appointed to other posts, 
which procured for him a salary of 
nearly eighty thousand francs. 

In 1805, after tlhe battle of Auster- 
litz, Clarke was made governor of 
Vienna, and grand officer of the 
Legion of Honour. A few days before 
the battle of Jena, N. is reported to 
have said to him : " In a month you 
will be governor of Berlin, and his- 
tory Will record that, in the space of 
one year, and in two different wars, 
you were governor of Vienna and 
Berlin ; that is to say, of the Austrian 
and Prussian monarchies." And this 
prophecy was indeed fulfilled. After 
the peace of Tilsit, Clarke succeeded 
Berthlier in the war department, was 
created Duke of Feltre, and was the 



CLARY 

recipient of many favours from the 
Emperor. He had little capadity for 
the office of war minister, but he never 
disputed N.'s will, and pleased him by 
his inveterate flattery. Upon the 
occasion of Mallet's conspiracy in 
1812, during N.'s absence in Russia, 
he lost all presence of mlind, and 
showed himself alike destitute of 
courage and talent. He neither fore- 
saw the danger nor could he repress 
it when it came to light; but after 
others had secured the safety of Paris, 
he endeavoured to make amends by 
the severity of his punishments. 

In 1814, finding that N.'s situation 
was desperate, Clarke went over to 
the Bourbons, and was ranked among 
the new peers. On the disembarkation 
of Bonaparte from Elba, the King 
g-ave him the appointment of minister 
of war, but he was entirely at a loss 
how to act, and no one could have 
done less to impede the usurper's pro- 
gress. After 1±ie second Restoration 
he was again made minister of war, 
but he became very unpopular and 
was dismissed in 181 7, having been 
presented with a marshal's baton and 
appointed gx>vernor of the fifteenth 
military division at Rouen. He died 
on 28 Oct. 1818. 

General Clarke's talent was cer- 
tainly not military ; but he is admitted 
to have been laborious and painstaking 
in his duties. He was pompous in 
manner, narrow-minded and vain, and 
is said to have boasted that he was a 
lineal descendant of the Plantagenets. 
He served N., according to his lights, 
faithfully ; and the Emperor always 
refused to listen to any aspersions cast 
on his fidelity, although at the same 
time quite aware of his limitations and 
weaknesses. "Clarke's chief merit," 
he said, "was that of being a good 
man of business." 

Clary, Ddsir^e-Eugenie (1777- 
1860). — She became the wife of Ber- 
nadotte (q.v.) and subsequently the 
Queen of Sweden, and is known to 
fame chiefly by reason of her being 
the object of N.'s early love. She was 
born on 9 Nov. 1777, the daughter of 
Francois Clary and Frangoise Rose 
Sornis. Her father is described as 
both a wealthy banker and silk mer- 
chant of Marseilles, while her elder 



CLARY 

sister Julie had married Joseph Bona- 
parte. When N. was staying- at Mar- 
seilles with his family in 1795, Joseph 
and his wife planned a marriage 
between N. and Desirde, ag-ed 
eighteen. Apart from this, however, 
the two were mutually attracted, and 
when he left Marseilles letters passed 
between them. But when the tide in 
his fortunes arrived Josephine dazzled 
his vision, and Mdlle. Clary faded 
before the greater attraction. 

N., however, was incapable of for- 
g-etfulness, and a certain remorse and 
desire to make reparation henceforth 
distinguished his behaviour to D^siree 
Clary. But on her part she was em- 
bittered and developed a petty spite, 
which no doubt largely influenced her 
husband Bernadotte, who could never 
forgive N. for having won his wife's 
love. But before this alliance N., 
when at Milan in 1797, devised a mar- 
riage for her with General Duphot. 
This arrangement was concurred with 
by the family, and Desiree was be- 
trothed to Duphot. But tragedy inter- 
vened, and a few days before the 
marriag-e was to have taken place the 
young officer was killed in the riot at 
Rome (28 Dec. 1797) before the eyes 
of his betrothed. After this she re- 
jected several suitors, but at last 
accepted General Bernadotte and 
married him. Though N. had never 
truly cared for this priggish yet astute 
man, he wished the bride all happiness, 
and thereafter looked upon Bernadotte 
as a member of his family, to have 
favours showered upon him and to be 
forgiven his many acts of duplicity. 
Meanwhile, Desiree called Josephine in 
public "that old woman," whom she 
could never forgive for her marriage 
with N., and when he returned from 
Egypt besought him to stand god- 
father tO' her son, to whom he gave the 
name of Oscar, in allusion to his 
admiration of Ossian. 

The advantages of this connexion 
with N, were enormous for Berna- 
dotte. N. himself said : " Bernadotte 
may thank his marriage for his 
marshal's baton, his principality of 
Ponte Corvo and his crown. His 
treacheries under the Empire were 
overlooked on the same grounds." 
There is little doubt that Desiree 



CLARY 

Bernadotte's love for N. never waned, 
but a revengeful feeling towards him 
certainly was also present. When 
Bernadotte was elected hereditary 
Prince of Sweden a peculiar lack of 
delicacy marked her conduct. To the 
unextinguished passion for N., Mme. 
de Remusat attributes the fact of the 
Princess's refusal to leave France and 
her dislike of Sweden, where she was 
never a favourite. Regarding that 
country she said : " I thought that 
Sweden, like Ponte Corvo, was merely 
a place from which we were to take 
our title." As soon as possible she 
was back in Paris in her house in the 
rue d'Anjou, actually having- the 
effrontery to stay there while her hus- 
band was plotting with Russia. N., 
with great delicacy, intimated his 
opinion of her conduct throug^h the 
Minister for Foreign Affairs, saying- 
he regretted she should have returned 
to Paris without permission, that her 
behaviour was contrary to etiquette, 
that her absence from her husband at 
such a crisis was unseemly. Of this 
messag-e she insolently took no notice, 
but went on making her preparations 
for a prolonged residence. At last, 
however, on the eve of declaration of 
war N, sent a strong^er message 
through her sister, the Queen of 
Spain, that her presence in Paris at 
such a time was scandalous. 

With unsurpassed impertinence, and 
taking advantage of N.'s iridulg-ence, 
Desiree remained, entertaining her 
friends with great parade, dressing 
luxuriously, going to drink the waters, 
staying at Auteuil, then back to Pafis 
to the round of gaiety. She frankly 
said that she did not see why Berna- 
dotte should be blamed for his atti- 
tude towards N. or called a traitor. 
Authorities, well informed of matters 
behind the scenes, state, however, that 
this ingenuousness of hers was but a 
mask to the fact that she was her 
husband's willing- ag-ent in Paris and 
intermediary between him and Talley- 
rand and Fouche. 

She was gayest of the gay when 
Paris in 1814 received the Tsar; she 
was in the capital during- the Hundred 
Days, and on the eve of Waterloo, 
according to Masson, ordered from 
Leroy "a nankeen riding-habit and a 



121 



CLARY 

cambric dressing-gown trimmed with 
Valenciennes. " 

In 1820 Mme. de R^musat wrote : 
"The Queen of Sweden is still living 
in Paris, though in strict retirement." 
And there in i860, in the house given 
to her and her husband by N. she died 
at the advanced age of eighty-three. 
After her death her correspondence 
with N. was found among her posses- 
sions, evidently treasured by the 
woman who had never forgotten her 
love nor forgiven the slight. 

Clary, Julie Marie (1771-1845). 
'Wife of Joseph Bonaparte ; sister of 
the above. Her marriage took place on 
I Aug. 1794, the bride's dowry being 
;;^6,ooo. She was the favourite 
daughter-in-law of Mme. M^re, and 
according to the Duchesse d'Abrantes 
was a perfect angel of goodness. She 
was also highly thought of by N. 
because she was not of an intriguing 
disposition, besides which he had great 
respect for her judgment. She depre- 
cated the advice given to Marie Louise 
to leave Paris, saying that this was a 
great mistake, for had the Empress 
remained she might have preserved 
the throne for her son, if not for her 
husband. After the downfall of N. 
Joseph went to America, but his wife, 
whose health was always delicate, 
could not accompany him. They were 
re-united, however, before his death. 
She died in 1845. 

Clausei, Bertrand, Comte and 
Marshal of France (1772 - 1842).— 
Was born at Mirepoix Ari^ge, and 
entered the army at an early age. 
Distinguished himself in the Spanish 
and Italian campaigns which followed 
quickly in succession from 1791 to 
1802. His fighting qualities were of 
the first order, and his strategic skill 
ranked high. Brought to the notice 
of N., he was decorated, and served 
in the Peninsular campaigns of 1810 
and 181 1. At the siege of Burgos the 
following year he displayed much 
courage, and succeeded Marmont in 
command, conducting the retreat with 
marked ability. On the first Restora- 
tion in 1 814 he submitted to the Bour- 
bons, but very reluctantly, and when 
N. escaped from Elba Clausel hastened 
to join him. During the Hundred 
Days he commanded the army which 



CLAVERING 

defended the Pyrenees. After Water- 
loo he refused to recognise the Bour- 
bon government, for which he was 
declared a traitor by the Royalists and 
condemned to death, but managed to 
escape to America. Permitted to 
return to France in 1819, he was re- 
instated, and created a marshal of 
France, and commanded in the 
Algerian Expedition. He resigned his 
post after the capitulation of Constan- 
tine, where his soldiers suffered great 
hardships and for which he was 
blamed. For the rest of his life he 
lived in retirement, and died at 
Secourrien, Garonne, in 1842. 

Clavering, Claire (1776?-1854)> 
— Married to Sir Thomas John Claver- 
ing (1771-1853), eighth baronet of 
Axwell and Greencroft, Durham; was 
the friend of Las Cases {q-v.), and the 
one to whom N. addressed his Letters 
from the Cape. According to Extinct 
Peerages, Lady Clavering was the 
daughter of Jean de Gallais de la Ber- 
nardine, Comte de la Sable of Anjou, 
but contemporary English gossip, 
violently anti-French, said that she was 
the daughter of a wax-chandler, or, 
again, the daughter of the person who 
let lodgings in Angers to Thomas 
Clavering, living there to learn French. 
The marriage took place in Aug. 1791, 
and the bridegroom succeeded to the 
baronetcy soon afterwards. She be- 
friended the Comte Las Cases when an 
imigri in England and in the depths 
of poverty. He became tutor to her 
children, and she assisted him in many 
ways, notably to publish his Geo- 
graphical and Historical Atlas, which 
brought him, financial return besides 
repute. When Las Cases became an 
admirer of N.'s and followed him to 
St. Helena, the friendship and corre- 
spondence between him and his bene- 
factress was unbroken. It was a letter 
to her, besides one to Prince Lucien, 
which, being found on a servant of Las 
Cases, caused the latter 's banishment 
from St. Helena. The letter was 
simply a friendly one, asking her to 
forward the other to Lucien, and is 
addressed to her house in Portland 
Place. Through Las Cases N. heard 
of Lady Clavering and her kindness, 
and conceived the idea of addressing 
what is really his defence to her. She 



122 



COCKBURN 

had three children, WilHam Aloysius 
(1800-72) ; Clara Anna Martha, in 1826 
mariiied to General Baron de Kuyff of 
Brussels ; and Anna Catherine, married 
5n 1 82 1 to Baron de Montfaucon of 
Avigfnon. Lady Clavering" died in 
1854, having- seen the revolutions 
which placed Lx)uis Philippe and later 
Napoleon III. on the throne of France. 
Cockburn, Sir George. Baronet 
(1772 - 1853). —British admiral, who 
in 1815 was appoiinted to command 
H.M.S. Northumberland, which con- 
veyed N. and his suite to St. Helena. 
Before transferring- N. from the Belle- 
rophon to the N or thumb erland the 
admiral ordered his secretary to 
examine the effects of the ex-Emperor 
and those of his suite. This was done 
with the utmost delicacy, but was 
looked upon as an unnecessary and 
insulting act by N. and his followers, 
N. observing- that he would rather his 
belong-ingfs were thrown into the sea. 
Las Cases repeated this statement to 
Cockburn and implored him to use his 
discretion. But the admiral was in- 
exorable, taking- up from the first the 
part he meant to play with deliberate 
intent. He had had his orders to dis- 
arm N.'s suite, search their bag-gag-e, 
and' seize any money or papers which 
mig-ht aid Bonaparte to escape a 
second time. Cockburn carried out his 
instructions to the letter ; and, more- 
over, added a few further restrictions 
of his own. The respect which had 
been shown to the Emperor on board 
the Bellerophon had been severely 
condemned by the Eng-lish ministry, 
and Cockburn's orders were more 
string^ent than those formerly issued. 
The ex-Emperor was nevertheless 
treated with humanity and considera- 
tion, and is known toi have held dis- 
cussions both political and personal 
with the admiral. Las Cases, whose 
account of this period can be most 
relied upon, deals very thoroug^hly 
with the character of the treatment 
inflicted by the admiral. The 
familiarity he endeavoured to affect 
towards N. and the numerous slights 
and embarrassments he put upon him 
were never forgiven, and, indeed, 
these unpleasant episodes, recorded by 
every historian up to the present day, 
still remain in evidence ag-ainst him. 



CODE 

On arrival at St. Helena he conducted 
the ex-Emperor to a little cottage 
known as "The Briars," where he re- 
mained for two months while the resi- 
dence destined for his future accom- 
modation was being- renovated. To 
Long-wood then they soon repaired, 
and Cockburn marked out a triangle 
covering- some twelve miles of area as 
the extent of N.'s recreation grounds. 
This step was very necessary, but it 
provoked the warmest censure from 
Las Cases and other members of N.'s 
suite, who declared that the admiral 
took these precautions for "his own 
personal caprice." N., however, the 
chief personage concerned, seemed 
pleased with Longwood, and from 
Cockburn's own description it does not 
seem to have been the most unpleasant 
of places of detention. The admiral 
caused a British flag to be hoisted on 
their stepping ashore, tO' prevent any 
American ship effecting the prisoners' 
escape. He alsoi dispatched seventy- 
five foreigners to the Cape whose pre- 
sence at St. Helena was undesirable. 
He set himself early to the task of 
silencing any manifestations of undue 
respect which the demonstrative 
attendants surrounding N. might essay 
to show. The title of "general " was 
substituted for that of "emperor," and 
individuals who dared to oppose this 
order were immediately arrested. On 
the arrival of the governor, Sir Hudson 
Lowe, Admiral Cockburn's responsi- 
bilities came to an end. In spite of 
Cockburn's unbecoming qualities, N. 
had a marked predilection for the 
admiral, while Las Cases impartially 
sums up his characteristics and 
ascribes to him generous and delicate 
sentiments, but condemns his capri- 
cious, irascible, vain and overbearing 
manner. " He is a man who is accus- 
tomed to authority and who exercises 
it ungraciously, frequently substituting 
energy for dignity." During his 
sojourn on St. Helena Cockburn enter- 
tained on a large scale, and his depar- 
ture on 19 June 181 6 was universally 
regretted, crowds flocking to the sea- 
shore to see the last of the Northumber- 
land. 

Code Napol6on, — This scheme of 
laws, which was known first as the 
Code Civile des Francais, was in- 



123 



CODE 

stituted on 30 Vent6se in the 
year XII. (31 March 1804). Three 
years later, in Sept. 1807, it was en- 
titled the Code Napoleon. Once more 
in 181 8 its former name was bestowed 
upon it, but in 185a the title of Code 
Napoleon was again restored to it, 
although N. himself cannot be said to 
have taken a very important part in 
its framing. Such a code was part of 
the programme of the constitution of 
1 791, but the Revolutionary assemblies 
were not successful in framing more 
than a few laws, which were after- 
wards incorporated in it. No coherent 
scheme was formulated until the Con- 
vention, when the material which had 
been collected in Royalist times was 
sifted and such parts of it as seemed 
desirable adopted. What was common 
to the whole of French law was ex- 
tracted fromi a vast mass of legal 
literature. 

The Roman law, upon which French 
jurisprudence was, of course, based, 
had been considerably simplified in the 
works of Dornat, and to some extent 
5n those of d'Auguesseau, the framer 
of the grandes ordonnances ; but the 
laws preserved in these works did not 
agree with revolutionary ideas, 
especially as regards the holding of 
properties, inheritance and so forth. 
Cambac6r^s instituted two schemes for 
the Code Civile, and under the Direc- 
tory was responsible for a third, and 
lit may be said that the Code in some 
measure traces its evolution back to 
these. The very day succeeding the 
coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire, pro- 
visional councils and two legislative 
commissions were appointed toi draw 
up a scheme for the Code Civile. For 
this Code Jacqueminot was largely 
responsible. Under iits scheme the 
government was responsible for all 
laws which w^ere prepared by the 
council of state, practically all of whom 
were men well suited to codify legal 
measures. The texts of the various 
measures were discussed competently 
and sufficiently. N.'s part in the codi- 
fication took place in the discussions 
of the general assembly of the council 
of state, of which he was chairman. 
The suggestions he made are of abid- 
ing interest, but although this great 
body of law bears his name, it is an 



CODE 

error to consider its provisions as being 
his personal work. 

It may be said that the Code suc- 
cessfully combines the two somewhat 
incongruous elements of andient 
French law and revolutionary law. It 
lis by no means a compromise. 
Adverse criticism has discovered in it 
a lack of method, and has stated that 
its logic is not at all strong, but it 
cannot be said to be weaker in this 
respect than any other juridical 
system. As the work of men whom 
the Revolution powerfully influenced, 
it is naturally weak in its provisions 
regarding personal property. The 
relations between master and servant 
are also by no means strongly repre- 
sented in it. In 1904, on its centen- 
ary, a commission was nominated to 
revise it, especially as regards its pro- 
visions ooncerning modem economic 
questions. 

Not only has the Code Civile power- 
fully influenced French law, but it has 
served as a model for numerous 
foreign systems of jurisprudence. 
Thus Belgium has preserved it, and 
the Rhine provinces adhered to it until 
the institution of the German Empire. 
The clearness of its provisions and the 
spirit of equity which runs through 
them have inspired its adoption by 
many later codes, as, for example, 
those of Portugal, Italy, and Holland. 
Spain and some of the South Ameri- 
can republics have also framed their 
legal standards upon it. 

A period of calm followed the battle 
of Marengo, and N., seizing the oppor- 
tunity, resolved to draw up a project 
of a Civil Code. To this end he 
appointed a committee of four lawyers, 
Tronchet, Portalis, Pr6ameneu and 
Maleville. The first twoi may be said 
to have represented the driving force of 
the committee ; Maleville was a capable 
and even distinguished lawyer, but his 
powers lay in the direction of legal 
commentary ; Prdameneu, on the other 
hand, was adroit and pliant. Tronchet 
was president of the Cour de cassation, 
and was a man of sound learning and 
perspicacity, gifted with considerable 
caution. The draft of the Code Civile 
was completed in four months, and 
printed on i Jan. 1801. By N.'s 
orders it was then sent to the law- 



124 



CODE 

courts, which were iinVited to submit 
their criticisms and observations in the 
course of the next three months. The 
revised result was then sent to the 
legislative section of the council of 
state, of whom, Portalis and Thibau- 
deau were members. Then it was sub- 
mitted title by title to the council. 
It was at this stag-e that its provisions 
first came under the notice of N., who 
presided over thirty-five of the eig"hty 
sitting^s devoted to the Civil Code. He 
had little legal learning, but his 
luxurliant intelligence and lively power 
of concrete vision, no less than his 
political insight, permitted him to con- 
tribute to the discussion in a most 
trenchant manner. Nothing that he 
proposed but bore the mark of genius ; 
sometimes, perhaps, hiis imagination 
spurred him to the proposal of 
measures which however altruistic 
were little suited to the purpose of 
everyday legislation. We can hardly 
expect the language of Locre, the 
clerk of the council, in its meticulous 
correctness to have been the current 
phraseology of N. It is not likely that 
in his cold and precise language we 
can find the ardent spirit of genius 
which animated the First Consul in 
these days of law-making. Thibau- 
deau relates with what ease N. seized 
the point of a question, how just were 
his ideas, how forceful his reasoning. 
He frequently surpassed the great 
jurists by which Ihe was surrounded 
by the turn of his phrase and the 
originality of his expressions. Behind 
the dreamer all the same was the hard- 
headed man of common sense, who 
would not permit himself to be bound 
by mere legal rule, but who kept con- 
stantly in view the gain and loss of the 
state, the political advantages and dis- 
advantages to France. "You act as 
law-makers," he cried once, "not as 
statesmen. It is by speaking to the 
soul that men are electrified. I first 
thought," he continued, "that it would 
be possible to reduce laws to simple 
geometrical demonstrations, so' that 
whoever could read and tie two ideas 
together would be capable of pro- 
nouncing on them, but I almost imme- 
diately convinced myself that this was 
an absurd idea." 

As each title of the Code passed the 



CODE 

council it was_ submitted successively 
to the tribunate and the legislature. 
Many objections were made, so many 
in fact that the First Consul was 
deeply chagrined, and an end was put 
to open debate in the House. The 
titles of the Code were henceforth to- 
be submitted to the legislative section 
of the tribunate, which was to com- 
ment upon it to that section of the 
council responsible for that portion of 
the draft. Should there not be agree- 
ment a conference was to be held under 
the presidency of Cambac^r^s, and the 
clauses there settled were to be re- 
mitted to the council, once more dis- 
cussed, and then ini their final shape 
expounded to the legislature by three 
councillors. This method hastened the 
whole work, and o;i 21 March 1804 the 
Civil Code became law. 

The first book of the Code Civile 
treats of "persons," the second of 
"goods and the various kinds of pro- 
perty," and the third of the "various 
modes in which property is acquired." 
Under the first laws of marriage, those 
regarding children, judicial separation 
and divorce are treated with great full- 
ness, as are those of civic rig'ht. It 
is impossible in such an article as this 
to debate the separate details of law 
which compose the Code, and it must 
suffice to remark that although the 
groundwork of the law of "persons " 
is coloured by revolutionary ideas, it 
is still founded on common sense and 
equity. It is, indeed, astonishing that, 
considering the haste with which it 
was framed, the Code exhibits such a 
largeness of view and such wisdom as 
regards its minutiae. It has been 
criticized upon economic grounds as 
too favourable to the sub-division of 
property, but one must recollect in 
sucJh a connexion the state of public 
opinion of the period, which was still 
strongly revolutionary, so that it was 
with the greatest difficulty that N. was 
enabled toi preserve for inclusion the 
permission of entail to one degree. 
Privileged inheritance of every kind 
was an abomination in the eyes of the 
French people of the time. Nor is the 
position of women very strong in the 
Code. Thus a widow was not per- 
mitted to succeed to her husband's pro- 
perty until all his relations had taken- 



125 



CODE 

their share. There lis also much dis- 
proportion and omission, and there 
were cases of a subject being discussed 
in the council and then permitted to 
lapse. But haste, negfligence and other 
considerations notwithstanding, the 
achievement is undoubtedly a great 
one. 

Without the personal force of N. 
St may well be said that the Code Civile 
could never have come into existence. 
Well estimating the nature of the 
legal mind, he clearly sawl that if he 
-were to remit the framing of its pro- 
visions to a body of professional 
lawyers, it would not have been com- 
pleted in Ms time. His impatience is 
fully justified in this respect. To his 
intelligence and to his knowedge of 
humanity are due several alterations in 
the code of a humanitarian character, 
such as "the well-to-do father always 
owes maintenance to his children." 
He also eloquently protested that the 
deaf and dumb should be permitted to 
marry. He framed the definition of 
domicile. He advocated a more 
advanced age for legal marriage than 
that of the old French law. The 
■g'eneral) interests of the people and of 
the state were ever in his mind in the 
framing of the Code, and it is not too 
;muoh to say that his influence stamped 
itself upon French family life, civil 
equality, and national security. 

Code of Civil Procedure 

At the time the council of state was 
elaborating the Code Civile a commis- 
:^ion was at work upon civil procedure. 
The deliberations of this body were 
published in 1804, submitted to the 
<:ourts of appeal and the Cour de cassa" 
tion, and after revision by the com- 
-mission examined by the legislative 
section of the council of state, then 
submitted to the full council, placed 
before a section of the tribunate, and 
finally voted on in the legislative body 
in April 1806. The council showed 
but little interest in the work which 
had been framed by a number of prac- 
tising judges and lawyers, whose aims 
were narrow, and the result of whose 
■^deliberations was not a little obscure. 
All questions relating to judicial com- 
petence had been excluded by the com- 
cnission, and it did not attempt to 



CODE 

settle the procedure of the commercial 
courts nor that of the Coiir de cassa- 
tion. Its task was to bring the 
civil procedure of the ordinary courts 
into harmony with the Civil Code, to 
simplify and revise older formations 
of law, to review revolutionary legis- 
lation and processes of distraint. The 
first part of the work is entitled " Pro^ 
cedure before the courts," and the 
second " Diverse procedures " ; the first 
lacks system, while the other deals 
with so many var'ied subjects that its 
arrangement appears extremely faulty. 
Yet it is not without merit, especially 
as regards the innovations it brought 
about. The great part of it is founded 
on the rules of the old regime, and per- 
haps the only revolutionary influence 
that may be observed in it are the 
provisions relating to conciliation pro- 
ceedings. It is very full of precautions, 
and enjoins a profusion of documents, 
together with extreme slowness and 
costliness. It is to a great extent a 
reversion to the cautious formalism of 
the seventeenth century. One of its 
chief framers, Pigeau, was a lawyer 
of extreme wisdom, who practised in 
the chatelet which had been abolished 
by the Revolution; but notwithstand- 
ing an enormous amount of attempted 
revision, the course of business in the 
French civil court is still substantially 
determined by the provisions here laid 
down. 

Criminal Code 

In May 1801 a commission had been 
appointed to draw up a Criminal Code. 
Its labours culminated in a draft which 
comprised both penal law and criminal 
procedure, which preserved the jury 
and which had many points of 
similarity to English law; but out of 
seventy-five courts only twenty-six pro- 
nounced in favour of the retention of 
the jury. A list of fundamental ques- 
tions was prepared by order of N. 
relating to criminal law and procedure. 
Some of these were : Should the jury 
be preserved? How should it be con- 
stituted? On what grounds should 
objection be taken to a juror? And so 
forth. An animated debate followed 
upon these points. Capital punish- 
ment and imprisonment for life were 
passed without discussion. Confisca- 



126 



CODE 

tion was advocated by N. and 
carried, but the main debate centred 
round the jury question. Most 
of the speeches were adverse to 
the retention of the jury, but N.'s 
personal views on the subject were 
final. He showed how a tyrannical 
government could influence a jury more 
easily that it could a judge ; that given 
public trial and counsel for the defence 
it was superfluous. Organized crime 
would always require exceptional 
courts. The retention of the jury was 
voted in principle, but it was decided 
that its members should be named by 
the prefect from the electoral colleges, 
and that its verdict should go by an 
absolute majority. The council then 
set to work to discuss the draft code. 
Twelve of its sessions had been held 
when it was disturbed by the inter- 
vention of N. He had pleaded before 
for the establishment of courts like 
the old parlements, but his idea did 
not find favour with the council. " It 
is necessary," said N. "to form great 
corporations, strong lin the reputation 
conferred by a knowledge of civil law, 
strong in members above private fears 
and considerations, in order that they 
may cause the guilty to turn pale and 
may communicate their energy to^ the 
prosecution. It is necessary, lin fact, 
to organize the prosecution of crime." 
But the council stated that in their 
view the proposed change would kill 
the jury idea and that the jury was 
working better as time advanced. N. 
then withdrew his plan. Twenty-five 
sittings of the council had been held, 
over eleven of which N. had presided, 
and after 20 Dec. 1804 the work of the 
commissiion was intermittent, and it 
was not ordered to resume its labours 
until Jan. 1808. The questions which it 
had adopted in 1804 were renewed. N. 
criticized the Jury of Accusation out of 
existence, but the Jury of Judgment 
was permitted to remain. The great 
question of the amalgamation of civil 
and criminal justice remained. N. was 
bent upon the institution of judges of 
assize, and determined that the powers 
of the prefect, which were very great, 
should be curtailed. Decentralization 
was his plan. In dealing with this 
Code, N. not only theorized with the 
greatest brilliance, but even proposed 



CODE 

two laws which he had personally 
drafted. Day by day he presided until 
the scheme passed in Oct., 1808. 

Penal Code 

A Penal Code had, of course, to be 
instituted before the Code of Criminal 
Procedure could be put into force, and 
in Oct. 1808 the government addressed 
itself to this task. Some penal ques- 
tions had already been settled ; for 
example, capital punishment and im- 
prisonment for life had been admitted 
as necessities. Minimum and maxi- 
mum penalties had also been fixed for 
each crime. The task now taken in 
hand was the revision of the Code of 
1 791, which was accomplished in forty- 
one sittings, and the Penal Code was 
decreed on 2 Feb. 18 10. N. presided 
on one occasion only, and gave it as 
his opinion that laws briefly stated, 
leaving considerable discretion to the 
judges and the government would be 
a good policy to go upon, as "men 
had compassion and the law had not." 
It cannot be said, however, that N. 
erred on the side of clemency, for 
the Penal Code is stringent and even 
in places barbarous. It must be borne 
in mind, however, that it was com- 
piled when the memory of the crimes 
of the French Revolution were fresh 
in the minds of men. The penalty of 
confiscation which had been excluded 
from the Code of 1791 was restored, 
as was that of "branding." The hand 
of the parricide was to be cut off before 
the death sentence. Those condemned 
to hard labour were given the most 
arduous tasks. They were to be tied 
two and two, dragging a ball at thelir 
feet. The death penalty was to be in- 
flicted not only for murder, but for 
theft and brigandage, for corruption 
and perjury where the lives of innocent 
people were imperilled by such. The 
horror of crime in this Code is well 
balanced by the horrors of the punish- 
ment inflicted. It is such a Code as 
could never have been instituted under 
popular or democratic government, 
and displays in nearly every line of 
its provisions the hand of the despot. 

Commercial Code 

Commercial courts had long sat in 
France, and a commission had been 



127 



CODE 

sitting in 1789 to investigate the com- 
merdial law of the country. The Revo- 
lution had, of course, put a period to 
its labours, which were resumed by 
command of N. in 1801, when a com- 
mlittee of six was appointed to prepare 
a sufficient Code. The draft arranged 
by them was submitted to the law 
courts and to the commercial councils 
and tribunals, who revised it, and then 
remitted it back to the committee. By 
an error, however, the revised Code 
was handed to the section of the In- 
terior instead of to the legislative sec- 
tion of the council of state, and was 
pigeon-holed for a number of years, 
only to be pulled out after the com- 
mercial scandal which arose upon the 
failure of the firm of Recamier in 1806. 
In Aug. 1807 it was finally completed. 
Four sessions, held at St. Cloud, be- 
ginning at 7 a.m. and lasting till the 
evening, gave N. a good opportunity 
of addressing himself to this task, and 
of applying his natural wisdom, in- 
sight and common sense to the affairs 
of civil life. At the first session the 
question whether the commercial 
courts should take cognizance of all 
cases arising out of promissory notes 
where the signatoriies had declared 
themselves of their intention of being 
bound by the law of commerce. The 
Emperor argued powerfully that mer- 
chants only should be liable to im- 
prisoinment for failing toi meet such an 
obligation. " Bankruptdes," said N., 
"take away men's fortunes without 
destroying their honour, and that is 
what it is important to destroy." 
Several members of the council 
pointed out that every failure could not 
be supposed toi be the result of fraud, 
and the Code sets forth that the 
administration of the debtor's affairs 
is entrusted first toi agents designated 
by the court of commerce, and then 
to syndics designated by the creditors, 
until and except such evidence emerge 
during the proceedings which may 
lead the presiding magistrate to con- 
sider that the bankrupt should be sent 
before the correctional or criminal 
court. This Code has required more 
amendment than any other part of 
Napoleonic leg^islation. For example, 
in the Fourth Book there is no clause 
dealing with imprisonment for debt. 



CONSALVI 

A sixth, the Code Rural, was 
drafted but never passed. All together 
represent a great idea — the unity of 
French law. It is necessary to recall 
the excitement, strain and almost 
hysteria of the times in which these 
Codes were drawn up ere due justice 
can be done to their contents. There 
is a great deal that is bourgeois about 
the Codes, and their spirit is more 
massive than spacious. The position 
of women in them is that of a child or 
a semi-slave; she has practically no 
rights. Again, company law is an 
appendage of the middle-class. The 
interests of tBe working people are by 
no means well provided for, and that 
in an age when the echo of the revolu- 
tionary cry for liberty was still ring- 
ing in men's ears. But religious 
toleration, civil equality, the emanci- 
pation of land, the public trial are 
retained by them. 

Concordat.— 5ee Religion. 

Cond^, Louis Henry Joseph, 
Duke of Bourbon (1756 - 1830). — 
The last Priince of Cond6. When 
quite a young man he married Louise 
of Orleans, and became the father of 
the Due d'Enghien (q.v.). He fought 
on the Royalist side at the Revolution, 
and during the Hundred Days was the 
leader of a rising in La Vendee. He. 
was found dead on 27 Aug. 1830 — 
hanged on the fastening of his window 
— and it is suspected that he may have 
been assassinated. 

Consalvi, Ercole (1757-1824).— 
Italian cardinal andi diplomatist; was 
born at Rome on 8 July 1757, 
and educated at the college of Cardinal 
York at Frascati. His promotion was 
rapid, and in 1800 Pope Pius VII. 
made him a cardinal and secretary of 
state. Consalvi's royalist tendencies 
made him an enemy of N., but one 
which even the Emperor himself could 
not regard without fear and respect. 
He it was who concluded the Con- 
cordat with N., and it was mainly 
through his influence that its terms 
were as favourable to Rome as they 
actually were. However, increasing 
friction between the Emperor and 
the Cardinal resulted in the latter' s 
resignation in 1807, though ere 
long N. was constrained to offer an 
apology. At the Congress of Vienna, 



128 



CONSTANT 



CONSTANT 



whither he went as papal representa- 
tive, Consalvi's diplomatic skill was 
evident, though it did not avail him 
much. Thereafter he helped the Pope 
in the government of the Papal States. 
He died on 24 Jan. 1824. A man of 
wide culture and outstanding- abilities, 
he was worthy of the age in which he 
lived. ^ 

Constant, Benjamin.— N.'s valet, 
a servant much favoured by Josephine, 
whose private life and that of N. he 
illuminated in his Memoirs, a sketch 
of which follows this article. Con- 
stant, regarding whose career little is 
known, exhibits all the assurance and 
self-satisfaction of the typical man- 
servant in his writings, which are 
nevertheless replete with the worldly 
wisdom of his class and age, and 
sparkle with genuine humour and 
native brilliance. 

Memoirs. — The Memoirs of the 
vivacious yet sensible valet are per- 
haps among the most entertaining 
biographical matter which deals with 
N. and those surrounding him. Con- 
stant passed from the service of 
Eugene de Beauharnais to that of 
N. himself, but one will find little 
of history in his writings, which con- 
fine themselves almost wholly to the 
domestic life of those whom he served 
and their satellites. Constant's atti- 
tude towards N. is that of a devoted 
servant and not that of a critic. He 
does not praise or blame, but simply 
narrates facts in a most interesting 
manner. Even at the outset Con- 
stant was inconsolable, left behind, 
as he was, when N. proceeded to the 
Italian campaign. When he rejoined 
N., after whom he had hastened, at 
the hospice of St. Bernard, he fol- 
lowed him through Italy. The Battle 
of Marengo and the death of Desaix, 
at which N. showed so much grief, 
are alluded to in this part of the 
book. Subsequent to^ the conspiracy 
which nearly cost N. his life by the 
exploding of an infernal machine, he 
asked Constant on going to bed if 
he had been at all afraid, and laughed 
when the valet told him that he had 
been much more put out than the 
First Consul himself. These re- 
miniscences bristle with minor points 
of interest, such as that relating to 



the poor madman who fell in love 
with Hortense ; and the meeting of 
the First Consul and his old writing- 
master, who turned up one day at 
Malmaison. The First Consul asked 
him who he was, and he replied : 
"General, it was I who had the 
honour tO' give you writing lessons 
at Brienne." "And a jolly bad pupil 
you turned out," cried the First Con- 
sul gaily. " I must compliment you 
upon your success ! " The old man, 
it is pleasant to relate, was pensioned 
off. 

As becomes a valet. Constant has 
much to say about the dress of the 
various dignitaries who surrounded the 
consular court. The First Consul's 
uniform, we are told, was a red coat 
without facings and braided with gold. 
He retained his' black military stock, 
and would not wear a lace cravat. His 
hat was graced with flowing tricolour 
plumes. 

Insensibly we enter Imperial times 
in these Memoirs. Constant became 
head valet, and therefore more in- 
timately acquainted with his master. 
He got a day's leave, the first since 
his attendance upon N. began. At 
this point, chapter xix., he inter- 
polates the Memoirs of a certain lady, 
which take up a good many chapters, 
and which there is no necessity to 
outline in this place. N.'s stay at 
Munich and Stuttgart is next de- 
scribed. Portraits of the German 
princes are cleverly drawn, especially 
that of Prince Louis of Bavaria, who 
on a visit to Paris went to sleep at 
the theatre. The enormous size of 
the King of Wiirttemburg also affords 
a butt for the kindly humour of Con- 
stant, as do the antediluvian dresses 
of the German princesses at state 
functions. The Empress Josephine 
had much adoi to keep from laughing 
when among the German princesses 
one was announced " Cunegonde " : 
the mediaeval ring of the name appears 
to have been in keeping with the 
lady's costume, and the Empress 
added that when she saw this princess 
sitting down she kept imagining how 
she would look if leaning on one side, 
so absurd were the Gothic panniers 
some of the German ladies affected 
and the huge wigs they still wore. 



129 



CONSTANT 

Constant, of course, followed his 
master in his various campaigns, and 
when the army of Boulog^ne marched 
towards the Rhine he saw much there 
which was to occupy his pen in the 
future. The great surrender at Ulm, 
when the immense army of over 30,000 
men laid down their arms at N.'s feet 
as they filed past him, strongly affected 
his imagination. Some of the regi- 
ments were by no means well fed, and 
once when visiting the lines, where for 
over forty-eight hours no rations had 
been served out, the Emperor noticed 
some of the soldiers baking potatoes 
in the ashes. His Majesty took up one 
of the potatoes and began to eat it, 
saying to the grenadier : " How do you 
like these roast pigeons? " 

The Polish campaign, the Battle of 
Eylau, and the events which followed 
these, with all their mingled misery 
and brilliance, are picturesquely set 
forth by Constant, who tells, among 
other things, how the Emperor cheated 
at cards and shared his winnings with 
his valet ; how Prince Jerome fell in 
love with a Breslau actress, who mar- 
ried his valet ; the Emperor's merri- 
ment during the Battle of Danzic; 
and describes the interview between 
the Tsar and the Emperor at Tilsit. 
A sad note is struck by the chapter 
on the death of the young Napoleon, 
the son of the King of Holland. The 
visit of the Emperor to Italy is m.ost 
strikingly drawn, especially those parts 
which deal with the regatta at Venice 
in honour of N., and the view of the 
piazza at night. Returning to Paris, 
the vast building schemes of the Em- 
peror were minutely inspected. The 
magnificent fetes and masked balls 
which now took place, and the dis- 
guises which N. assumed at some 
of these, are cleverly described. All 
through this period of comparative 
peace the sayings and doings of the 
Emperor are carefully and skilfully 
collected. His campaign in Spain is 
the subject of some vivid pages. Con- 
stant tells how once while in Spain 
he was roundly abused by Duroc, then 
grand marshal, in the most harsh and 
insulting manner. Constant appealed 
to the Emperor, who sent for the 
marshal. "Look, Marshal," said N., 
pointing to the valet, " look into what 



CONSTANT 

a state you have thrown that poor 
fellow. What has he done to be 
treated thus? " Then, turning to 
Constant, the Emperor said : " M. 
Constant, rest assured that this shall 
not occur again." Shortly after this 
Constant had a violent attack of fever 
at Valladolid, where he had to be left 
behind. He reached Paris a few days 
after the Emperor, just as Talleyrand 
had been thrown into disgrace. The 
campaign of the Rhine and the wound- 
ing of the Emperor, which was kept 
dark, is then alluded to, as is the 
attempt upon the Emperor's life by 
Staps. The death of Lannes at Ess- 
ling and the distress of N. are beau- 
tifully told. The dreadful sufferings 
which followed the Battle of Essling 
and the fortitude of the sufferers 
occupy some space. 

The next point of real interest in the 
Memoirs is the divorce, of Josephine, 
which Constant shows to have been a 
painful sacrifice to the Emperor. The 
dreadful scenes which followed his de- 
cision are touchingly portrayed. N.'s 
second marriage is described in full; 
the birth of the King of Rome is 
touched upon and synchronized with 
the death of Constant's son by croup. 
N.'s little-known journey through Hol- 
land and Flanders is interestingly writ- 
ten up, and throws light on a part 
of Napoleonic history which has been 
strangely neglected. The great Rus- 
sian campaign is described from the 
point of view of one who was close 
to the Emperor at all times, and so 
on until the date of the first abdica- 
tion, through the horrors of Leipsic, 
and the invasion of France. 

Constant's grief at having been 
charged with the embezzlement of 
100,000 francs, which he had buried 
by the Emperor's command, and his 
disgust at the charge, made him refuse 
to follow his Imper^ial master to Elba. 
The false construction put upon his 
conduct he strongly resents in his 
Memoirs, and furnishes many examples 
of his disinterestedness. Thus end 
these Memoirs, which are replete with 
the most amusing and interesting 
anecdotes relating to the Imperial 
career, and which it is impossible to 
do more than glance at in such a brief 
survey as the present. Constant 



130 



CONSTANT 

appears to have been honest, honour- 
able and unselfish, and it is not diffi- 
cult to trace his character in his 
writings, througfh which flow a veri- 
table stream of simplicity, good nature 
and naivety. 

Constant de Rebecque, Henri 
Benjamin (1767 - 1830).- French 
author and politician. This French 
politician, usually spoken of simply as 
Benjamin Constant, and who was an 
important figure in the literary world 
of N.'s day, was born at Lausanne, 
but received his education in Brussels 
and Oxford, subsequently spending 
some time in Edinburgh. In 1794 he 
became acquainted with Mme. de 
Stael, with whom he formed what was 
more than a platonic friendship. Two 
years later he attracted soime attention 
by his first publication, in book form, 
a pamphlet in defence of the Direc- 
torate; while he was appointed, not 
long afterwards, a member of the 
Tribunate. Whilst acting in this 
capacity, however, he repeatedly 
showed himself hostile to the growing 
power of N., his attitude in this 
respect being nO' doubt traceable in 
some degree to his intimacy with Mme. 
de Stael, and the result was that Con- 
stant no't only forfeited his position, 
but was ordered to quit France. 
Going accordingly toi Germany, he 
lived for a while at Weimar, where he 
grew friendly with Goethe and 
Schiller; while in 1813 he published, at 
Hanover, a book which augmented his 
reputation in France, De Vesprit de 
conquete et de I'usurpation dans leur 
yapports avec la civilisation europeene. 
The d4h&cle of the Empire in 1814 
made it possible for him to return to 
Paris, where he was received in 
friendly fashion by the Tsar Alexander, 
who was then staying in Talleyrand's 
house, opposite the Place de la Con- 
corde ; and now* Constant plunged into 
a fresh love-affair, the object of his 
adoration on this occasion being Mme. 
R6camier, at this time at the height of 
her fame in Parisian society. Then, in 
the year of Waterloo, the author issued 
in London his Adolphe, which was 
probably the first real psychological 
novel, and which exercised so profound 
an influence on Mme. de Stael ; in 
1825 the first volume of another book 



CONSTANTINE 

from his pen was published, De la 
religion considerde dans sa source, ses 
formes, et ses ddvelloppements . This 
is the longest of his works, but he is 
remembered rather by his Journal 
Intime, which was not published in its 
entirety till after his death. It is 
strange that N., with all his anxiety to 
enact the part of Maecenas, should 
have failed to agree with Constant, 
and his treatment of the author must 
ever be a matter of regret with the 
Emperor's countless devotees. 

Constantine, Paviovich (1779- 
1831).— Grand Duke and Tsarevitch of 
Russia; was born on 27 April 1779, the 
second son of the Tsar Paul, many of 
whose characteristics he inherited. 
He was brought up by his grand- 
mother, the Empress Catherine II., 
who carefully planned his education, 
and married him at the age of seven- 
teen to Juliana of Coburg. This 
union turned out most unhappily, and 
his wife returned permanently to Ger- 
many in 1 80 1. Constantine served in 
his first campaign under Suvarov, 
and so distinguished himseff at Novi 
that his father conferred on him the 
title of Tsarevitch. For some time 
after Tsar Paul's death he led a very 
dissipated life. In the 1805 cam- 
paign he held the command of the 
Imperial guards, was present at the 
Battle of Austerlitz, and the retreat of 
his men in this conflict was the be- 
ginning of the rout which followed. 
After the signature of the Treaty of 
Tilsit (1807), Constantine came under 
the influence of N., whom he greatly 
admired, and he did everything in b's 
power to bring about a Franco- 
Russian alliance. He did not realize 
that N. only desired this alliance for 
political reasons, and even after the 
disasters which fell upon the French 
Army in 181 2 he still worked for this 
end. During the 181 2 campaign he 
did not show to advantage in the 
battles in France and Germany, and at 
Dresden he failed conspicuously ; but 
at La F^re Champenoise he demon- 
strated his personal bravery. He was 
later entrusted with the discipline of 
Poland by his brother Alexander, and 
was made commander-in-chief of the 
Polish Armies. In 1820 he married a 
Polish lady, and relinquished his right 



131 



CONSULATE 

to the succession of the Russian 
throne, spending- the remainder of his 
life within the confines of his adopted 
country. During- the insurrection in 
Warsaw of 1830, Constantine proved 
himself unable to cope with the situa- 
tion, and so far forgot his birth as to 
rejoice in the defeats of the Russians. 
He died of cholera at Vitebsk in 1831 
before the suppression of the rising. 

Consulate, The.— N.'s joint and 
singular occupancy of the office of 
consul was embraced by the years 
1799-1804. In Nov. of the first year 
he formed with Ducos and Siey^s 
" an executive consular commission, 
invested with the full powers of the 
Directory." All three held equal 
powers, and the presidency was to 
fall to each in alphabetical order. It 
is plain that such a commission was, 
in reality, nothing more than a Direc- 
tory of three. In effect the triumvirs 
exercised the sway of an almost 
unlimited oligarchy, and from their 
cabinet collectively controlled the 
gxwernmental departments, the holders 
of the several portfolios retaining office 
at their pleasure. Furthermore, the 
Consular Commission laid before the 
Council of Five Hundred and the 
Council of Ancients resolutions which 
it became incumbent upon these bodies 
to cast into a leglislative mould. 

Supremacy of the Triumvirate 

The trend of the national legisla- 
tion was thus definitely fixed by the 
three. The councils might only 
modify the original provisions of the 
consuls without substantially inter- 
fering with their specific character. 
A spirit of detachment from party 
animated the consular policy, and its 
efforts were directed towards the 
establishment of a lasting internal 
peace. N. took upon himself the 
active administration of affairs, while 
Sieyfes undertook to plan the con- 
stitution. The labours of the consuls 
were hampered at the outset by the 
state of the national finances, Which 
was deplorable. But pacific influences 
were at work, and had been set on 
foot prior to the termination of the 
Directory on 18 Brumaire. The 
Chouans (q.v.) were temporarily paci- 
fied by d'H6douville (24 Nov. 1799). 



CONSULATE 

Prior to this the consulate had been 
reg-arded as a merely provisional 
government, the Directory only stand- 
ing adjourned to 20 Feb. 1800. 

N. Hastens the Constitution 

Sieyfes adumbrated but slowly his 
constitutional alterations, and N., im- 
patient at the delay, drew matters to 
a head by insisting upon the immediate 
sig-nature of articles which would serve 
as a basis for discussion. These in- 
cluded the appointment of himself, 
Cambac6r^s and Lebrun as consuls, 
whilst Siey^s and Ducos were merely, 
alluded to as "future senators." 
Briefly, the new constitution was 
framed under three heads : the elec- 
toral system, the assemblies, and the 
executive. No legislation could be 
originated save by the consuls, who 
also controlled foreign policy and 
finance. The constitution of the 
council of state was left in an in- 
choate condition, and, in short, the 
final veto remained with the Tribunal. 

N. as First Consul 

The consuls were appointed by the 
senate for ten years: — N., the First 
Consul, had practically unlimited sway 
in the matter of suggested legislation, 
the other two merely existing for pur- 
poses of consultation. The members 
of the senate, tribunate and legisla- 
tive body were then nominated, the 
final appointments confronting the 
revolutionary party with a strong- 
bureaucracy. The ministry was 
ag-ain reconstructed under the oer- 
sonal supervision of N., whose ..1- 
variable policy it was to consult with 
his ministers in private, avoiding any- 
thing like a cabinet council. There 
was (sig-nificantly) no premier. On 
18 Feb. 1800 the result of the national 
plebiscite for or against the new con- 
stitution was published, the constitu- 
tion being adopted by 3,001,007 votes 
against 1,526. 

Local Administration 

The organization of local adminis- 
tration then proceeded apace. The 
cantons were grouped into arron- 
dissements, 398 in number. Lx>cal 
autonomy ceased. "The administra- 
tion and the administered were brought 



132 



CONSULATE 

together." Men of all parties and of 
a superior type were appointed as 
administrative officials, and on the sur- 
face the machine of internal govern- 
ment worked smoothly. On 19 Feb. 
1800 N. established himself at the 
Tuileries. In Dec. of that year 
negotiations were once more entered 
into with the Chouans, ending in a 
consular proclamation that all of that 
party who did not lay down their arms 
within ten days would be regarded as 
rebels. Severe measures followed the 
expiry of this period, namely, the 
occupation by troops of the affected 
districts, which, were subjected to all 
the horrors of war. Brune succeeded 
d'H^douville, and with his occupancy 
of the Chouan districts the move- 
ment collapsed. In Jan. 1800, in the 
tribunate and the press, pointed allu- 
sions were made to the autocratic ten- 
dencies of N., who suppressed no less 
than sixty newspapers in Paris alone, 
although he himself made use of the 
press to reply to his critics in the 
tribunate. In May 1800 N. set out 
on the second Italian campaign 
(q.v.). The victory of Marengo 
added greatly to his popularity. Re- 
turning to Paris in July, he busied 
himself with keeping a watch, upon 
the numerous parties which cO'mposed 
his legislature. Through an admir- 
able system of police he rendered 
constitutional opposition impossible, 
so that nothing was left to- his 
rivals save conspiracy. Many plots 
and counterplots were unmasked, and 
not a few more organized by the 
police in order to entrap the less 
wary enemies of the First Consul. 
On 24 Dec. 1800 an attempt was 
made upon his life at the opera by 
Chouan leaders, but, although many 
were killed and injured, he escaped 
scathless. Above 130 suspects were 
condemned to deportation, but only 
a moiety of these suffered it. This 
incident greatly increased the popu- 
larity of N., who added fresh laurels 
to his fame by the Treaty of Lune- 
ville (q.v.). 

N/s Policy as Consul 

It was now obvious that Ms policy 
was to weld the aristocracy of the 
ancien regime with the bureaucracy 



CONSULATE 

of the France of the Revolution. 
In this he had to contend with the 
legislative assemblies. But on 18 Jan. 
1802 it was decided by the senate that 
the eighty tribunes and 240 legislators 
who were to continue in office on the 
partial renewal of these bodies should 
be named by vote instead of being 
selected by lot. The result was that 
all the leaders of the opposition left 
the tribunate. An extraordinary ses- 
sion of these affected bodies was con- 
voked, and the Concordat (q.^'.) and 
the Articles Organiques were adopted 
as law, 8 April 1802. The Peace of 
Amiens {q_.v.), 25 March, also ren- 
dered N. still more popular than 
before. On 26 April 1802 an amnesty 
was granted to the emigres by a 
senatus consultum, specifying those 
classes of Emigres who were not to 
profit by it, those not to exceed a 
thousand. 

Consulate for Life 

N. had by this period made up his 
mind that he should be created First 
Consul for life. The senate agreed, 
as a reward for the Treaty of Amiens, 
to appoint him First Consul for the 
ten years following his then existing 
term of office, but on 10 May 1802 
the assemblies yielded, and the con- 
sulate for life was bestowed upon 
him. The opposition now consisted 
of republicans alone, and N., who 
aimed at personal power, more and 
more aware that the army was still 
deeply imbued with republicanism, 
dispatched those regiments most 
attached to it to San Domingo. 
The generals were all strenuously 
opposed to the First Consul, to- 
whom they alluded as "the Sultan." 
The military malcontents were rein- 
forced by civilians and intellectuals 
like Mme. de Stael and Cabanis. 
Bernadotte controlled the group of 
generals, seconded by Moreau. N., 
aware of the growing danger, set 
the police to work, and a conspiracy 
was engineered, duly "discovered," 
and two officers were executed. The 
generals became active, and France 
was deluged by pamphlets emanating 
from the military party and denounc- 
ing N. as a tyrant. The real heads 
of the conspiracy were then arrested, 



133 



CONSULATE 

but with characteristic tact N. hushed 
the matter up and dismissed them 
unimpeached. The plebiscite for or 
agfainst N.'s appointment as Consul 
for Life was now published (2 Aug". 
1802), and showed 3,568,885 votes in 
his favour against only 8,374 "noes." 
N,, now in supreme authority, and 
elected by the voice of the nation, 
drew up a new constitution, which 
was approved by the council of state 
(2 Aug-. 1802). The senate accepted 
the measure without discussion on the 
same day. 

The Tuileries now witnessed the re- 
vival of an almost royal state, and a 
regular court was established therein. 
The salons were re-established on the 
semi-philosophical basis which had 
marked them before revolutionary 
times. The nouveaux riches of the 
Directory were discredited. Paris be- 
came once more the repository of 
European culture, art, and fashion, 
and foreigners swarmed in her boule- 
vards. Much yet remained to be done 
in the provinces, however, but work 
was abundant and well remunerated. 

Finance 

Financial operations were badly 
hampered by the existence of float- 
ing paper, and securities had de- 
preciated. These the treasury com- 
menced to exchange for consols. 
This resulted iin an increase of the 
public debt by 9,000,000 francs, 
justified, however, by the exigencies 
of the situation. But much money 
was entering the treasury throug-h 
war contributions and indemnities, 
and from extraordinary internal re- 
ceipts alone the consulate received 
at least 300,000,000 francs. War 
with Great Britain broke out afresh 
in May 1802, and a great army 
was concentrated at Boulogne. The 
royalists ag-ain conspired. A general 
board of public safety was opened 
at the ministry of justice on i Feb. 
1804, and Moreau, who was in reality 
guiltless, was arrested. Georges 
Cadoudal and Pichegru, the royalist 
conspirators, were arrested. A royal- 
ist prince was expected to arrive in 
Paris. The Due d'Enghien (q.v.) was 
suspected, and his " arrest " was re- 
solved upon. This was effected at 



COPENHAGEN 

Ettenheim, in Baden, and the Due 
was brought to Paris, and, after a 
short trial, shot at Vincennes, An 
immense sensation was created, and, 
profiting by it and posing as a bul- 
wark ag-ainst conspiracy, foreign or 
native, N. resolved upon g-rasping 
the sovereign power. On 3 May the 
tribunate, and on 4 May the senate, 
hailed him as Emperor, and on the 
1 8th his status as such was ratified. 
The consulate had come to an end. 

N.'s labours towards the reorg-aniza- 
tion of France were not disinterested, 
but were undertaken with a view to 
his own exaltation. Created consul 
at a time when the country was worn 
out by internecine strife, he easily suc- 
ceeded in gaining public favour, and 
by degrees forced his way to ever- 
advancing public promotion. Attach- 
ing himself to no party, he gained 
a reputation for disinterestedness 
which was totally misplaced. There 
but remains to remark that the genius 
by which he succeeded in reorganiz- 
ing a shattered France was of the 
hig-hest possible order. Both the 
manner and the speed with, whidh it 
was accomplished excite unbounded 
surprise and admiration, and if the 
solidity of the work has been called 
into question it can but be indicated 
that after more than a century 
much of it remains unaltered. N. 
was undoubtedly the creator of modem 
France, but it is possible that during 
the nineteenth century she was ham- 
pered in many ways by the legislative 
legacy he bequeathed to her, which 
was in some ways more suited to the 
exigencies of personal control than to 
that of a purely democratic g'ovem- 
ment. 

Continental System.— See Em- 
pire. 

Copenhagren, Battle of.— In con- 
sequence of the Freya incident (see 
Armed Neutrality), in which a 
Danish frig-ate of that name, convoying^ 
merchantmen, had refused the right of 
examination to British warships and 
had been captured with the convoy, 
hostilities broke out between Great 
Britain and Denmark. Admiral 
Parker, with Nelson as second in com- 
mand, was dispatched to Danish 
waters, where he arrived in the Catte- 



134 



COPENHAGEN 

gat on 30 March i8oc. The Danes 
had concentrated all their means of 
defence almost before the city of 
Coj>enhagen, a policy which obliged 
the British to make an attack upon a 
well-defended position. Numerous 
vessels of war had been turned into 
floating batteries, and ten sail of the 
line accompanied these. The Swedish 
and Russian fleets, which were to have 
assisted the Danish sea- armament, lay 
ice-bound and useless in the harbours, 
a circumstance much in favour of the 



COPENHAGEN 

of the allied fleets. On the 26th 
Parker attempted the passage o{ the 
great Belt, but several of his vessels 
ran aground. On the 30th, however, 
he resolved to force the passage, 
Nelson leading the van, Parker the 
centre, and Graves the rear. The 
ships of the line formed a single 
column in the middle of the Channel, 
whilst the lesser vessels sailed on either 
side for the purpose of combatting the 
enemy's batteries on the opposing 
coasts. When the fleet neared Elsinore 



o 



•s t 



It A^r»ROACM 











BATTLE OF 
I^^COPENHAGEN. 

DaniMl^ ShipB.fX^Sngtitk Skip*. 



British. On 21 March the British 
Government had delivered an ulti- 
matum to the Danish authorities de- 
manding the withdrawal of Denmark 
from the maritime confederation of the 
neutral powers, and the opening of 
Danish ports to British vessels. The 
reply vouchsafed was to the effect that 
Denmark would not commence hos- 
tilities, but would meet force by force. 
On the 24th the British ambassador 
went on board the fleet, and a council 
of war was held, at which Nelson 
advocated appearing before Copen- 
hagen in order to prevent the junction 



the fortress of Cronenburg opened a 
heavy fire, but as a comparatively 
weak cannonade came from the 
Swedish batteries on the opposing 
coast-line Parker steered thither, and, 
avoiding the Elsinore batteries, 
anchored off the Island of Huen in the 
middle of the gulf. Parker and Nel- 
son were aware that the Danes 
thought more of the defence of Copen- 
hagen than of preventing the entrance 
of the British fleet into the Baltic, but 
dared not risk leaving such a strongly 
fortified place behind them. The city 
was defended not only by the strong 



135 



CORBINEAU 

Fort Trekroner (Three Crowns) on the 
right, but also by twenty hulks of 
larg-e vessels, and land batteries on the 
Island of Amag to the left. On 
2 April, Nelson, with nine sail of the 
line, anchored right opposite the 
Danisih line, having left three sail 
aground in his progress up the 
Channel. He was met with and re- 
turned a dreadful fire, no less than 800 
pieces of artillery being brought to 
bear on the British line. Nelson con- 
verged his fire upon the Provesteen, 
which he silenced after killing 500 out 
of a crew of 600. Several other of the 
floating batteries struck him. At the 
other end of the line Captain Riou was 
strongly opposed, and Parker, seeing 
the damage inflicted on his division, 
ordered the battle to cease ; Nelson, 
however, ignored the signal, placing 
his glass to his blind eye and affecting 
not to observe it. In the event the 
rapidity of the British fire gave Nelson 
the victory, and he burned, sunk, 
captured, or drove on shore the entire 
Danish line, leaving Copenhagen at 
the end of the day open to bombard- 
ment. He then communicated with 
the Crown Prince of Denmark, threat- 
ening to sink the vessels which 
still resisted unless they ceased firing, 
which the Prince agreed to do. 
Negotiations were entered into for a 
suspension of hostilities, and an 
armistice was concluded by which Den- 
mark quitted the armed neutrality for 
the truce. {See Armed Neutrality.) 
The British loss was 20 officers (includ- 
ing Riou) and 234 men killed, and 48 
officers and 641 men wounded. The 
Danish loss was estimated between 
1,800 and 2,000. 

Corbineau, Dahltnann, and 
Hautpoui. — Three of the com- 
manding chasseurs of the guard in the 
charge on the Russian infantry at 
Eylau which saved the battle. N. 
wrote to Admiral Decr^s to have three 
frigates put on the stocks tO' be named 
Dahlmann, Corbineau, and Hautpoui, 
and in the captain's cabin was to be 
placed a marble inscription recounting 
the brave deeds of the hero from whom 
the vessel was named. 

Coronation of Napoleon.— There 
is no reason to suppose that Bonaparte 
had more than the most casual interest 



CORONATION 

in religion, yet he realized very fully 
that, would he make the ceremony of 
his coronation impressive and solemn 
in the eyes of France and of Europe in 
general, it was essential that the Pope 
should play a part therein. His Holi- 
ness having been approached, he con- 
sented to come, though it appears that 
he gave this consent rather reluctantly 
and largely because he dreaded the con- 
sequences of a refusal. Feeling that 
the meeting between himself and the 
Pontiff might be somewhat embarrass- 
ing for both parties, N. arranged that 
it should take place on the road be- 
tween Fontainebleau and Nemours, as 
a chance incident in the course of a day's 
hunting ; and while Pius VII. was on 
his way thither, great preparations for 
the coronation were going forward in 
Paris, the pro'spective sovereign mani- 
festing a rare shrewdness in his con- 
duct of these affairs. For instance, he 
caused the sword and insignia of 
Charlemagne to be brought from Aix- 
la-Chapelle to Paris, arranging that 
they should figure prominently among 
the decorations at Notre Dame, where 
the coronation was to take place ; and 
by thus honouring these sacred and 
significant relics he made a strong 
appeal to royalists, in fact, to all 
people with a sense for the romantic 
and for the glamour attaching to the 
remote days of chivalry. Nor did the 
Emperor spare money, his own and his 
wife's coronation robes alone costing 
1,123,000 francs; while the advice of 
his new master of ceremonies, M. de 
Segur, was carefully collated with hints 
given by many scions of old houses 
now rallying to the new dynasty, 
counsel being also gladly taken from 
Louis David, who, appointed chief 
painter-in-ordinary to their Imperial 
Highnesses, was charged to paint a 
vast picture of the spectacle. 

On the most memorable day of his 
life, 2 Dec. 1804, N. and his consort 
drove to Notre Dame, vast crowds 
flocking to see and applaud the new 
sovereigns of France. Josephine bore 
on her head a costly diadem of pearls 
and diamonds, her shoulders likewise 
being decorated with jewels ; while 
beneath a gorgeous velvet cloak, lined 
with ermine, she wore a dress of white 
satin, lavishly embroidered in gold 



136 



CORONATION 

with bees, for the bee is the crest of 
the Bonapartes. This dress was made 
in Greek style, being- gathered in 
immediately beneath the breasts, and it 
showed the Empress' slim and grace- 
ful figure to full advantage ; while the 
Emperor's smallness of stature, always 
so noticeable when he was seen on 
foot, passed almost unobserved as he 
sat in his carriage. In the hilt of his 
sword flashed the famous Pitt diamond, 
and he wore a red velvet coat, not of 
any modern pattern, but of a shape 
in vogue in the remote times of 
Henry IV. ; while over this coat he had 
a cloak embroidered with bees. He 
wore the collar of the Legion of 
Honour in diamonds, and a wreath of 
laurel encircled his grave and beautiful 
brow. 

The cheering g-rew louder and louder 
as the procession made its way along 
the Rue Nicaise, and the Rue St. 
Honore, over the Pont Neuf, and 
finally to Notre Dame. Here the Pope 
was ready to receive the pair, and, 
having anointed Emperor and Empress 
with the holy oil, he gave them his 
pontifical blessing, and offered up 
prayers on their behalf. Then he made 
as if to lift the two crowns, with in- 
tent to place them on the heads before 
him, but at this juncture a strange 
emotion thrilled all the onlookers — an 
emotion which had not been evoked in 
France for many centuries past — for 
noiw N, rose from his knees, gently 
waved His Holiness aside, and placed 
the crown proudly on his own head. 
He then crowned the Empress. 

It would be wrong to suppose that 
the French populace were unanimous 
in approving Bonaparte's coronation, 
bewitched though they were by the 
pride, pomp, and splendour accom- 
panying it ; while in England the affair 
was looked on chiefly with scorn, and 
elsewhere many people derided it. 

Coronation, First Anniversary 
of N.'s. — The first anniversary of this 
event (2 Dec. 1804) was Austerlitz, the 
"Battle of the Three Emperors," 
2 Dec. 1805. At midnigrht, when the 
Emperor returned from visiting the 
round of outposts, his soldiers, whom 
he had taken into his confidence as to 
plans for the impending struggle, 
greeted him in their excitement and 



CORSICA 

ardour with flaming torches made of 
the wisped straw which had roofed 
their shelters. As N. passed in his well- 
worn grey coat the thousands shouted 
in wild ardour, "This is the anniver- 
sary of the coronation ; Vive I'Em- 
pereur ! " The illuminations died 
away with the dawn, and in that dawn 
rose "the sun of Austerlitz." 

Corsica. —This island of the Medi- 
terranean and its chequered history 
must be studied if a correct under- 
standing of its great son Napoleon 



(S®^gI€A 



CCorso \J 
Caprajal. 

Porticiolo 



Bastia 
otacea 




PtFavone 



C.if Porto Vecchio 



Bonifacio 



Bonaparte would be arrived at. 
Despite his Ligoirian blood he was a 
true Corsican, in virtues as in faults, 
and the environment had moulded him, 
for his family had been settled there 
since the early part of the sixteenth 
century. 

Corsica's geographical position 
furnishes the key to its racial and 
political history. It lies in the 
Mediterranean, 9 miles north of Sar- 
dinia, 56 miles west of Italy, but no 
miles south-east of Cap Martin, 
France, the country in whose history 
Corsica counts for so much. In area 



^il 



CORSICA 

it is 3,356 square miles, in length 114 
miles, and 52 miles in breadth. In 
N.'s time the population numbered 
about 200,000, now it is 300,000. 
Boswell, who visited the island only 
four years before the birth of N., gives 
in his Account of Corsica descriptions 
of its natural features. "The interior 
parts of the island are, in general, 
mountainous, though interspersed with 
fruitful valleys, but have a peculiar 
grand appearance and inspire one with 
the genius of the place, with that un- 
daunted and inflexible spirit which will 
not bow to oppression." The wild and 
uncultivated districts are overgrown 
with tangled underwoods, a riotous 
growth of arbutus, myrtle, thorn, 
broom, laurel, and various other 
fragrant shrubs called the maquis, the 
fragrance of which floats out to sea, 
and by this sailors would know when 
they were near Corsica if no other 
sign were to offer itself. This 
fragrance N. recalled at dismal St. 
Helena, and said that by it alone, even 
with blinded eyes, he would know his 
birthplace. 

Cyrmes was the classic name for the 
island, and under this name much may 
be read of it in Pliny, Strabo, Dio- 
dorus, and others, amongst them the 
younger Seneca, who spent eight years 
of exile there (a.d. 41-49). Among the 
many derivations given for the name 
Corsica is that of cor, a heart, and 
sica, a stiletto or steel, doubtless sug- 
gested by the character of its in- 
habitants ; but a more likely origin is 
its association with the legend of a 
Ligurian woman named Corsa who 
saw a bull swim over to the island and 
on his return noted that he was much 
bigger than when he went. This 
symbolises the noted fertility of the 
island. 

The original population was Ligurian, 
and the first civilized people to reach 
Corsica were those merchants of the 
early days, the Phoenicians, who, with 
a keen eye for markets, opened trading 
centres on the coasts. Then followed 
Etruscans, Carthaginians, Romans, 
Vandals, Goths, Lombards, and Sara- 
cens, all of whom left some mark on 
race and country', the last-named in 
especial leaving considerable traces. 
The flag of Corsica, which the French 



CORSICA 

tried to ban, bears a Moor's head 
bandaged over the eyes, while many 
of the island's dances and songs have 
a Moorish atmosphere. Out of this 
welter and clash of conflicting races 
was formed the Corsican of N.'s day. 
Even in Seneca's time he could write 
thus of Corsica : "This island has often 
changed its inhabitants. Passing over 
the more ancient events which are en- 
crusted with the rust of antiquity I 
will only mention that the Greeks who 
now inhabit Massilia (Marseilles) settled 
first on this island after leaving 
Phocoea." And then he proceeds to 
give what was then known of the 
people who had tried to make Corsica 
theirs. N. in 1789, his twentieth year, 
wrote his Lettres sur la- Corse, and 
says: "This history of Corsica is 
nothing but that of a perpetual struggle 
between a small people which wishes 
to live in freedom, and its neighbours 
who wish to oppress it." 

The Etruscans during their domina- 
tion drew from Corsica supplies of 
honey, wax, timber for ships, and 
slaves. Then came the Carthaginians, 
more warlike, though also keen traders, 
but in the Punic Wars Rome wrested 
their booty from them. The tribes of 
the interior were never conquered, and 
Roman generals learned defeat from 
Corsican hands. One of those generals 
paid with his life for his failure, for 
when he returned to Rome he was 
strangled and thrown out on the 
Gemonian Steps. In a.d. 469 Genseric 
the Vandal was master of the island, 
then it was ravaged by the struggle 
between Vandals and Lombards under 
Cyril, the lieutenant of Belisarius. 
Next came the Byzantine rule, with its 
oppressive taxes, then an irruption of 
Mussulmans followed by the appear- 
ance of Charlemagne and the Franks, 
and in their turn came the Moors from 
Spain. After them the island was 
divided between foreign nobles and 
became the scene of internal feuds. 
Finally, in 1098 Urban II. placed it 
under the Archbishop of Pisa, and 
Corsica remained under that rule for 
200 years until Genoa, victorious 
in the naval battle of Meloria {1284), 
demanded the island as the fruits of 
her victory. 

Genoese rule was to become synony- 



138 



CORSICA 

mous with oppression and injustice, but 
even under them the Corsicans were 
not broken. There arose a line of 
national leaders who struggled hard 
against oppressive rule. To the Bank 
of Genoa, whose rule was supreme in 
Corsica, the island only represented an 
investment, and their only interest was 
in its yield of taxes. All national in- 
stitutions were reduced to a shadoav, 
and the defence of the coasts so 
neglected that the Barbary pirates 
there found easy prey. Plagues and 
floods further reduced the population, 
and their misery was extreme. Sam- 
buccio Guidice della Rocca, Vincen- 
tello d'Istria, and Sampierodi BastelicO' 
are names well-loved in Corsica as 
names of those who loved and fought 
for liberty. The last-named, chief of 
the Corsican regiment in France, 
helped to drive the Genoese from the 
island, but he was done to death by an 
assassin, and his native land was to 
know another 150 years of foreign rule. 
Internal animosities were fostered by 
Genoese and of set purpose they never 
interfered with the vendetta, for the 
issue of firearms was a fruitful source 
of revenue. Again in 1729 the 
Corsicans rose under Andrea Colonna, 
Ceccaldi, and Gaffori, the greatest of 
national heroes. Austrian soldiers pur- 
chased from the Emperor Charles VI. 
had almost suppressed the revolt, but 
only with difficulty, when there came 
the strange interlude of the German 
baron, Theodore Neuhof of La Mark, 
Westphalia, who, within a month of 
his appearance with his promises of 
help and valuable gifts, was proclaimed 
King of Corsica. The story of his ad- 
venture is one of the strangest in his- 
tory. Genoa now sought the assistance 
of France, and Louis XV. sent troops. 
The Corsicans were defeated, but under 
Gaffori the spirit of national resistance 
rose again. Treachery in the camp led 
to his assassination, and after his 
death came Paoli (q.v.) with whose 
life the history of Corsica is bound up 
from this time to its final incorpora- 
tion with France in 1796. It was 
occupied by Great Britain for a short 
time in 1814, but in 181 5 was restored 
to the French crown. Out of this 
welter of conflicts and races was 
moulded the Corsican character to be- 



CORUNNA 

come synonymous throughout the 
world with superhuman will, valour, 
and fierce love of liberty. The darker 
side was there, as shown by the famous 
vendetta, but this was a product of the 
very conditions which formed the finer 
quaUties. In N., Corsica's greatest 
son, the same light and shadow may 
be found ; the national character is well 
exemplified in him. That this is true 
may be found by reading descriptions 
of the Corsican character written before 
he had dazzled the world — descriptions 
that also apply to his personal appear- 
ance, notably his eyes and their keen 
glance that all remarked and so many 
feared. Brave, lovers of war, sober, 
proud, intrepid, keen of intellect, all 
this may be found in N., and finally 
the old Corsican saying may be quoted, 
" A Corsican never forgives, neither 
alive nor dead." And yet what man in 
the world's history can show such a 
record of magnanimous deeds as N. 
The influence his country wielded over 
his fate is incalculable. Apart from 
the curious circumstance that he was 
born on an island (Corsica), was first 
imprisoned on an island (Elba), con- 
quered by Great Britain, another island, 
and, again defeated, dying on sea-girt 
St. Helena, the history of his country 
formed his dreams and ambitions. As 
a child he listened eagerly to the tales 
of its heroes, as a youth he burned to 
emulate their deeds. In the days of 
the Revolution the fact that he was a 
Corsican, therefore a "lover of 
liberty," was a protection, and gave 
him an immunity that nothing else 
could have done in the time of the 
Terror. In his last days his thoughts 
constantly reverted to Corsica, and 
again, Corsicans played a fateful part 
in his life. It was a Corsican, Paoli, 
who, whatever his motives, decided N. 
to find his career in France ; it was a 
Corsican, Pozzo di Borgo, who moved 
behind the scenes, patiently planning 
his downfall ; it was a Corsican, 
Antommarchi, who was with him in 
those days of suffering at St. Helena ; 
it was a Corsican who gave him the 
last sacraments when his life was 
ebbing fast to its close. 

Corunna, Battle e-F. — A battle 
of the Peninsular War, fought on 
14 Jan. 1809. The opposing forces 



139 



CORVISART 

were i5,ocx) British under Sir John 
M(x>re, and 20,000 French under 
So'ult, who was endeavouring- to 
prevent the British from embarking-. 
The British were safely embarked 
with a lo'ss of 1,000 men, while the 
French lost about 2,000. In the 
moment of victory Sir John Moore 
was mortally wounded. He died the 
same evening, and was buried at mid- 
night in the citadel. 

Corvisart des Marets, Jean 
Nicolas (1755-1821). — N.'s phy- 
sician ; was born at Dricourt, dept. 
Ardennes. His father destined him 
for the bar, but he preferred medi- 
cine, in the study of which he 
persevered under poverty and other 
disadvantag-es. Coming to Paris, he 
steadily made his way, and was 
appointed physician to the hospitals 
of La Charit^. In 1787 he received 
a chair at the College de France ; was 
created a baron in 1805, and became 
a member of the Institute six years 
later. He made some valuable im- 
provements in the diagnosis and 
treatment of diseases of the heart 
and chest. Corvisart enjoyed N.'s 
high esteem and complete confidence, 
and his morning visits to the Em- 
peror's bedside were very cordially 
received ; he was, however, frequently 
twitted w-ith the "quackery " which N. 
professed to believe inseparable from 
his profession. He was the author of 
several medical works. 

Craonne, Battle of.— Early in 
March 1814 an army composed of 
25,000 Russians under Blucher, the 
advance-guard of the Allied Army, 
occupied the plateau of Craonne. 
On the 7th they were attacked by 
about 30,000 French under N., who-, 
after a desperate and costly struggle, 
finally forced the Russians to retreat 
on Laon, but not before they had held 
out for a whole day and inflicted heavy 
losses on the attackers. The French 
lost 7,000 killed and wounded, among- 
the latter being Victor, Grouchy, and 
six of N.'s other generals; and the 
losses of the Russians were almost as 
severe. 

Crescentini, Girolamo (1760- 
1846). — Italian singer, a soprano, 
detained by N. in Paris from 1806 
to 1812. 



DARLING 



D 



Danzig, Siege of (1).— On 26 
May 1807, after two months' sieg-e, 
this city was surrendered to the 
French under Lefebvre. It had been 
garrisoned by 12,000 Prussians and 
6,000 Russians under Marshal Kal- 
kreuth, and on 15 May an attempt 
was made by 6,000 Russians, under 
General Kamenskoi, to relieve it. 
The French army numbered 20,000 
men, while Marshal Lannes, with 
the grenadiers of the Guard, formed 
the covering force, which frustrated 
Kamenskoi 's attempt to relieve the 
city. At the time of surrender the 
garrison's effective strength was re- 
duced to 7,000 men, who were per- 
mitted to retire with their arms and 
the honours of war. 

Danzig, Siege of (2)— From 24 
Jan. 1813 to 29 Nov. of the same 
year this city was besieged by Allied 
forces ; at first by Count Platoff and 
his Cossacks, but in June the Duke of 
Wiirttemburg assumed the command 
of the besieging army, which numbered 
30,000 men. It was garrisoned by 
35,000 French and men of many other 
nations, mostly survivors of the retreat 
from Moscow. General Rapp, com- 
mander of the garrison, made a brave 
defence which included several daring 
sorties for forage, but, finding his 
numbers rapidly diminishing- from 
starvation, disease and exposure, he 
at length consented to capitulate. The 
garrison had been reduced to 16,000 
men, of whom about one-half were 
French, and these were taken to Russia 
as prisoners of war. 

Darling, And reiv,— Upholsterer at 
St. Helena. He was the representa- 
tive of a London firm of upholsterers 
who had undertaken to furnish Long- 
wood. His diary was discovered in 
St. Helena by Maj. M. F. Foulds, 
who was in medical charge of the 
troops' quarter in the island in 19 15. 
He copied it and transmitted it to 
Dr. Arnold Chaplin. It is drily and 
unemotionally written, for Darling was 
not in the least affected by the Napo- 
leonic glamour, and it throws light 
on certain points, among others the 
question of the famous death-mask 
of N. (g.'y.)- Darling constructed 



140 



DARLING 

the coffin which held the Emperor's 
remains. 

He states that, on viewing the body 
of N., he "was much astonished to see 
him so much wasted in the body, * but 
at the same time look so well, so 
young-, and with such a pleasing coun- 
tenance. ' " Montholon gave him the 
order for the coffins in writing, and, 
"to be more particular to his exact 
size," assisted him in the measurement 
of the body. "The net size was as 
follows : Length 5 feet 7 inches, only 
18 inches barely across the shoulders, 
and scarcely 10 inches deep." 

Darling's account of the final scene 
is interesting, if only as showing the 
severely professional interest with 
which he regarded the business and his 
entire absence of any feeling for the 
historic nature of the occasion. Caesar 
dead and turned to clay was nothing to 
him but a lifeless man : " The bust 
having been taken, the Governor and 
Sir Thomas Reade having asked me 
what the delay was, I told' them the 
French people did not seem much in- 
clined at that time to have him put 
into the coffin. I afterwards mentioned 
that it was proper he should be sol- 
dered up to-night, to Countess and 
Count Bertrand, with General Mon- 
tholon and Mr. Marchand, who set 
about preparing various articles for 
the purpose. I having then brought 
in Abraham Millington and Samuel 
Ley, the men who made the tin coffin. 
Dr. Rutledge, of the 20th Regiment, 
being then in attendance (he having 
relieved Doctor Arnott), had orders not 
to let his heart be taken out of the 
room, I having received the same 
orders, the reason of this, as I was 
informed, was owing to Dr. Antom- 
marchi wishing toi have hlis stomach 
in his own possession to take to 
Europe with him, but the other French 
people did not wish that to be the case. 

" I believe they wished his heart tO' 
be taken home with them, but did not 
get permission : therefore they wished 
to preserve it, which was accordingly 
done in the following manner : His 
heart and stomach, as I have already 
mentioned, was in a silver vase or 
tureen, having been part of his plate, 
with a cover to it, on whicih was his 
coat of arms with an eagle on the top, 



DARU 

which unscrewed with a nut; this 
having been soldered on fast, and then 
the heart having been put into the 
tureen by Dr. Rutledge, in presence 
of Count Montholon, etc., etc., the 
top having been soldered on and a 
hole having been made in the bottom 
of the vessel, the spirits was then 
poured in by Dr. Rutledge, and an 
old shilling soldered on the hole ; a 
considerable delay having taken place 
owing to the construction of the ves- 
sel, it was past eight o'clock before 
the two men finished, and during the 
time the different things were prepar- 
ing, or, I may say, lay on the table 
in the library room, ready, a silver 
spoon, fork, and knife, with silver 
handles, one silver ewer or cream jug 
with rich workmanship on it, one of 
his silver plates, one of the same as 
now in my possession, a silver can- 
ister or mug with a top to it, in which 
was the stomach, the silver dish with 
his heart, two double Napoleons 
coined during the Republic, two ditto 
during Bonaparte's first Consulship, 
two ditto during his Emperorship, and 
two ditto during his Irnperial reign, 
with four single and three silver coins : 
I having had time to look at all the 
various articles while the men were 
soldering the rim of the top of the 
dish where the heart was, and likewise 
having put the coins and plate in to 
the coffin myself." 

Daru, Pierre Antoine No€l 
Bruno, Count (1767-1829).— French 
soldier and statesman, born at Mont- 
pelier. He entered the artillery early 
in life, but began to take an interest in 
literature. On the outbreak of the 
Revolution he became Commissary tO' 
the army protecting the coasts of 
Brittany. He was throiwn intO' prison 
on a charge of assisting the royalists, 
but after the fall of Robespierre was 
released. He rose greatly in the ser- 
vice, until in 1799 he became chief 
Commissary to Massena's army in 
Switzerland. There he showed great 
organizing capacity and an anxiety 
that was rare in the French ranks in 
those days. During that campaign, so 
wonderful was his power of work 
and detachment from his official 
duties that he was able to compose two 
poems. After the accession of N. he 



141 



DARU 

became chief Commissary, to the army 
of reserve intended for North Italy. 
He was one of the signatories of the 
armistice of the Austrians which closed 
the campaig-n in Italy in 1800. After 
this he returned to private life for a 
while and entered the tribunate as a 
democrat when war with England] was 
renewed. In 1803 he resumed the 
duties of chief Commissary for the 
army in the north of France. N. placed 
great confidence in him and promoted 
him tO' be Commissary with the Grand 
Army, which in 1805 marched against 
the forces of Austria and Russia. After 
Austerlitz he assisted in drawing up 
the treaty of Presburg, and became 
Intendant-general of N.'s military 
household. He accompanied N. in the 
Prussian and Russian campaigns and 
assisted in drawing up the Treaty of 
Tilsit in July 1807. He thus super- 
vised the administrative and financial 
duties in connexion with the French 
Army in occupation of Prussia, and 
may be said to have acted as N.'s chief 
agent in that country. He was 
strongly of opinion that N. should 
marry a Frenchwoman instead of the 
Austrian Archduchess, and, indeed, 
told him SO'. In 181 1 he became secre- 
tary of state, and evinced remarkable 
ability in the administration of the 
forces of the Empire. In 181 3 he was 
minister of war, and after the abdica- 
tion of N, he retired into private life, 
but assisted his old master during the 
Hundred Days. After the second 
Restoration he became a member of the 
chamber of peers, but always remained 
a democrat, and unhesitatingly com- 
batted the measures of the ultra- 
royalists. On one occasion he ex- 
pressed to N. his fears that he did not 
make a very good courtier, whereupon 
the Emperor replied: "What I want 
is an enlightened, firm and vigilant 
administrator, and that is why I have 
chosen you." As has been said, the 
Emperor had the highest admiration 
for his abilities and excellent qualities, 
praising his judgment, intellect, his 
power for work, and more than once 
saying that he had a body and mind of 
iron. He was almost as active in a 
literary capacity as in politics and ad- 
ministrative work, and published a 
history of Venice in seven volumes, a 



DAVOUT 

history of Brittany, a translation of 
Horace in verse, discourses in verse on 
the faculties of man, and a didactic 
poem in six cantos upon astronomy. 
He died at Meulan on 5 Sept. 1829. 

David, Jacques Louis (1748- 
1825),— French artist. See Paint- 
ing. 

Davout, Aimee.— Princess of Eck- 
miihl, nee Leclerc, was the sister of 
General Leclerc, brother-in-law of N. 
It was through his interest that the 
marriage between Davout and Mdlle. 
Leclerc was arranged, and the story of 
this was related by herself. At the 
time of the San Domingo Expedition 
N. gave the command to Leclerc,- who, 
when told, said that a tie and respon- 
sibility necessitated his presence in 
France. N. questioned him. "Your 
love for Pauline? She will accom- 
pany you. Change of air will do her 
good." The General pointed out that 
it was his sister who needed him and 
who otherwise would be left alone in 
the world. 

" We must have her married directly 
— tO'-morrow, for example. " 

" But I have no fortune to give 
her ! " 

"Am I not here? TO'-morrow your 
sister shall be married. I don't know 
exactly to whom." 

A little while after Davout entered to 
inform N. that he was about to be 
married. 

"To Mdlle. Leclerc? I find the 
match very suitable." 

"No, General; with Mme. ..." 

"To Mdlle. Leclerc." 

And Davout was hurried off to Mme. 
Campan's to interview the young girl 
who was to be his bride. The mar- 
riage took place, and for some time 
Mme. Davout was very unhappy, but 
at last her husband could not but 
appreciate her many estimable quali- 
ties. She was a great favourite of the 
Empress Josephine. 

Davout, DavoCtt, or Davoust, 
Louis Nicolas.— Prince of Eckmiihl, 
marshal of France ; was born at 
Annoux on 10 May 1770. He first 
encountered N. at Brienne (q-v.), and 
after having passed through the cur- 
riculum provided there, he entered the 
army when only seventeen years of 
age. He served with distinction under 



142 



DAVOUT 

JDumouriez in Belg"ium, took Luxem- 
bourg-, and played a brilliant part under 
Desaix at the passag^e of the Rhine 
in 1797. He followed N. to Egypt, 
won many victories over the Arabs, 
especially at Aboukir, and on his re- 
turn to France was made a general 
of division, and in 1804 a marshal. He 
disting-uished himself in the German 
campaign of the following- year, and 
took a prominent part at Austerlitz. 
By defeating^ the Duke of Brunswick 
at Auerstadt in 1806 he contributed to 
N.'s great victory over", the Prussians 
at Jena, and was created Duke of 
Auerstadt. He shared the glory of 
Eylau, Eckmiihl (after which he was 
created a prince) and Wagram ; 
was made Governor of Hamburg ; 
accompanied N. in his Russian 
campalign, and then returned to his 
government of Hamburg. He made 
it a vast camp, and defended it 
against the Allies for ten months. 
But his treatment of the town, his 
seizure without compensation of 
private property, his demolitions of 
large portions of the place and ex- 
pulsion! of 25,000 of the citizens, led 
to temporary disgrace and retirement. 
The military cliaracter of Davout, 
like that of so many of the revolu- 
tionary generals, must suffer from 
charges of cruelty and rapacity. His 
iron discipline, like that of Massena, 
made Mm feared but not loved by his 
men, \vho were, however, more exact 
than those of any other corps in the 
performance of their duties, and they 
were usually called upon to bear the 
most difficult part of the work in hand. 
Davout was admittedly one of the 
most, perhaps the most, able of N.'s 
marshals. Although he displayed open 
hostility to the Bourbons after N.'s 
banishment to Elba, he was not inter- 
fered wlith, and his powers of organ- 
ization were afforded full play on his 
master's return. So far was he in- 
dispensable to the war department that 
during the Waterloo campaign he re- 
mained at Paris, a move for which. 
N. has often been adversely criticized. 
Latterly he became reconciled to the 
monarchy, and in 181 7 his title was 
restored, while in 1819 he became a 
member of the chamber of peers. He 
died on i June 1823 at Paris. 



DECRE8 

Death-Mask.— The death-mask of 
N. was taken by Dr. Burton (q.v.) and 
Antommarchi on 7 May 1821, two days 
after death. Burton had been anxious 
to take an impression of N.'s features 
in plaster of Paris, and tried to pur- 
chase some in Jamestown. But none 
was to be had, and the necessary 
gypsum was obtained by boats of the 
fleet on certaJin parts of the coast. On 
the morning of the 7th Burton went 
up to Longwood with his material 
ready for use. His story, which was 
reported by Lowe in a dispatch to 
Bathhurst, was that Antommarchi 
first tried to produce a death-mask 
with the material supplied by Dar- 
ling (q.v.), the upholsterer, but failed. 
Then Burton offered to make the 
attempt with his material, though 
Antommarchi declined tO' have any- 
thing to do with it, declaring that 
success was impossible. Burton, how- 
ever, persisted, and records that "with 
little difficulty I succeeded in forming 
the mould, but at so late an hour that 
a second could not be taken." Dar- 
ling's own account in his recently pub- 
lished diary is that both Antommarchi 
and Burton were engaged under his 
own eyes in taking the mask. What 
is now certainly established is that the 
mask was taken. Whether it was 
taken wlith Darling's material or with 
Burton's is a question of no great 
moment. The authenticity of the 
death-mask was long disputed. Dar- 
ling's narrative sets that question at 
rest once for all, though not, perhaps, 
the question of Burton's or Antom- 
marchi 's hand in its making. 

A few days afterwards Mme. Ber- 
trand purloined the front part of the 
mask and refused to return 'it to Bur- 
ton. It descended to Hortense, Mme. 
Thayer, and from her to Priince Victor 
Napoleon. 

Decr^s, Denis, Due (1761-1820).— 
French admiral, qualified for the army 
but entered the navy instead at the age 
of eighteen and made rapid progress. 
Serving in India at the beginning of 
the Revolution he was promoted and 
became rear-admiral in 1797. In 1801 
he left for Egypt under the command 
of Villaret-Joyeuse (q-v.). Decr^s, 
rather than surrender his ship, blew it 
up at Aboukir. For this he was deco- 



143 



OELABORDE 

rated and received a sabre of honour in 
1804. He was appointed vice-admiral, 
g-rand officer of the Legiorj of Honour, 
and president of the electoral college 
of Haute Marne in succession. On his 
marriage vv'ith Mme. Saligny, Duchesse 
de San-Germane, the Emperor created 
him a duke, thereby making their 
union cO'mplete. At the return of the 
Bourbons, Decrfes deserted N.,but this 
ungrateful act only brought upo'n him- 
self the hearty dislike of the public. 
He was assassinated in 1820, it is 
thought, by his valet, who placed gun- 
powder under his bed. The attendant 
then destroyed himself. 

Delaborde, Henri Fran90is, 
Count (1764-1833).— French soldier; 
was born on 21 Dec. 1764 at Dijon, 
was the son of the town baker. In 
revolutionary times he joined the local 
volunteers and was rapidly promoted, 
soon becoming a general of brigade. 
He was present at the siege of Toulon 
as chief of staff, and after being pro- 
moted general of division was for some 
time governor of Corsica. He served 
on the Spanish frontier in 1794, and 
distinguished himself at the Bidassoa 
and Misquiriz. He had a command on 
the Rhine, and during the campaigns 
of 1795-7 was at the head of a division, 
accompanying Moreau into Bavaria in 
1796. 

During the consulate and the early 
empire he was in constant employ- 
ment, and in 1804 was made com- 
mander of the Legion of Honour, and 
received the dignity of count in 1808 
when serving in Portugal under Junot. 
He extricated his men most skilfully in 
the rear-guard action of Rolica against 
Sir Arthur Wellesley. In 1812 he 
headed a division under Mortier in the 
Russian campaign, and next year was 
appointed grand cross of the Legion 
of Honour and governor of the castle 
of Compi^gne. During the Hundred 
Days he joined N. and was a 
marked man by the Bourbons, who 
court-martialled him, but he escaped 
through a technical flaw in the charge. 
He retired into private life and was not 
heard of again publicly. He died on 
3 Feb. 1833. 

Delaroche, Paul (1797-1856).— 
Frenchi painter. See Pictures, Napo- 
leon IN. 



DELMAS 

Delavigne, Casimir (1793-1843). 

— This French author, whose name is 
closely associated with Bonaparte's, 
spent his childhood at the seaport of 
Havre, where he was born on 4 April 
1793 ; while at the age of ten he went 
to Paris, there to- enter the college sub- 
sequently known as the Lycee Napo- 
leon ; and here his chief comrades were 
his brother Germaine Delavigne and 
Eugfene Scribe, both destined tO' be 
distinguished men later on. It would 
seem that Casimir was originally 
something of a royalist, but ere long 
he fell under the spell of the Emperor, 
and he was among the many who' cele- 
brated in verse the birth of the King 
of Rome. This poem and further 
things from the budding author's 
hand soon came under the notice of 
N., ever quick to recognize and re- 
ward young rnen of talent ; and we 
are told that, when conscription was 
eventually founded throughout France, 
Delavigne was exempted owing to the 
personal influence of the Emperor, who 
realized that the poet was unfitted by 
his delicate health from doing military 
service. However, it is only right to 
say that this story rests on tradition, 
and has been gainsaid by several 
writers. 

Delavigne won a wide fame during 
the Napoleonic rSgime, largely by 
poems on national events ; while for- 
tune continued to favour him after the 
Restoration, Louis Philippe himself 
becoming one of his avowed admirers. 
He gained a special triumph in 1833, 
with his play Les Enfants d'Edouard, 
which is concerned with the smother- 
ing of the little English princes in the 
Tower, an episode which the author 
was induced to handle by seeing a 
painting of the same theme by Paul 
Delaroche {q.v.), an artist chiefly re- 
membered by his picture of N. in his 
study at Fontainebleau. He died at 
Lyons on 11 Dec. 1843. 

Delmas, A. G. (1768-1813).— 
French general ; served with distinction 
under Sch6rer in Italy and Moreau on 
the Rhine. He was exiled tO' Porren- 
truy, Switzerland, where he remained 
until 1 81 3, when he was permitted to 
offer his services to the Emperor. 
Delmas owed his banishment to two 
reasons. Firstly, because of his 



144 



DENINA 

g-eneral conduct in opposing- all the 
measures taken up by the g-overnment ; 
and secondly owing- to a duel which he 
foug'ht with General Destaing. On the 
occasion of a state function to com- 
memorate the establishment of the 
Concordat, Delmas, in reply toi N.'s 
question : "Well, what do you think 
of the ceremony?" said, "It was a 
pretty capuchinade. Nothing was 
wanted except the million men who 
have died to put an end to what you 
have just set up again." This is 
believed to have been another good 
reason why Delmas w-as banished. It 
is Thibaudeau's version, and Mme. 
Junot confirms it. Delmas was killed 
in action at Leipsic in 1813. 

Denina, Carlo Giovanni Maria 
(1731-1813).— Italian historian and 
librarian to N. ; was born at Revello, 
Piedmont, on 28 Feb. 1731. He was 
educated at Saluzzo and Turin, and in 
1753 was appointed professor of 
Humanity at Pignerol, but having in- 
curred the animosity of the Jesuits he 
was forced to resign the post. He 
subsequently became professor of 
Rhetoric at Turin University, and 
there wrote his chief work, Delle 
Revoluzione d'ltalia (1769-72), and 
also his Discorso sulV Impiego delle 
Per s one (Florence, 1777), which again 
roused clerical animosity and cost 
Denina his chair. Not only that, but 
he was banished from Italy. In 1782 
he went to Berlin at the invitation of 
Frederick the Great. While there 
Deriina published Vie et regne de 
Frederic II. (Berlin, 1788), and La 
Prusse Litteraire sous Frederic II. 
(1790-91). In 1804 he published Delle 
Revoluzione della Germania (Florence), 
and in the same year was in- 
vited to Paris by N. and appointed 
librarian, besides being the recipient of 
many honours at the same hands, 
though always pursued by the hatred 
of his clerical foes. Denina died at 
Paris on 5 Dec. 181 3. Among his 
other works are Tableau de la Haute 
Italie et des Alpes qui I'entourent 
(1805), Storia dell' Italia Occidentale 
(6 vols., Turin, 1809-10), and La Rus- 
siade (Berlin, 1799-180O), an heroic 
poem in honour of Peter the Great. 

Denmark. — In 1800 the Tsar had 
persuaded the Danish Government to 



DENMARK 

join the Second Armed Neutrality 
League which Russia and Prussia had 
just concluded with Sweden. Great 
Britain retaliated by laying an embargo 
on the vessels of the three neutral 
powers and by sending a fleet to the 
Baltic under the command of Parker, 
with Nelson second in command (see 
Copenhagen). The Danes made a gal- 
lant resistance, but their fleet was 
destroyed, and they were compelled to 
submit tO' a peace whichi was much to 
their disadvantage. A second attempt 
to preserve her neutrality once more 
brought Denmark into collision with 
Great Britain. After the peace of Tilsit 
she found herself unable to retain her 
neutrality any longer, as N. was deter- 
mined to close her harbours along with 
those of Sweden and Portugal to 
British ships if Great Britain refused 
to accept the mediation of Russia. 
Although the Danish Government 
would have preferred an alliance with 
Great Britain to one with N., and had 
assembled its army in Holstein to repel 
him by force of arms if necessary', 
Great Britain did not consider Den- 
mark strong enough to resist France, 
so dispatched a fleet wlith, 39,000 men 
to the Sound to compel Denmark to 
unite her fleet with the British fleet. 
She was offered an alliance, the com- 
plete restitution of her fleet after the 
war and other compensation, but the 
Prince Regent, before whom these 
terms were placed, was a person of 
invincible obstinacy, and although the 
terms were liberal and even generous, 
they were not placed before himi in a 
very tactful way. Frederick therefore 
refused to negotiate, and a British 
army was landed on 16 Aug. 1807. It 
immediately invested Copenhagen, and 
on 2 Sept. began a bombardment of 
the city which lasted for three days, 
and ended with the capitulation of the 
capital and the surrender of the fleet 
intact. Denmark, henceforward re- 
garding Britain as an enemy, entered 
into a league with N., whose faithful 
ally she was until the end of the war. 
As a result of this policy she lost Nor- 
way (q.v.), which she was compelled 
to surrender to Sweden by the terms 
of the treaty of Kiel (18 14), but she 
received a money compensation and 
Swedish Pomerania, with the island of 



145 



DENNEWITZ 

Rijgen, which afterwards she ceded to 
Prussia in exchange for the duchy of 
Lauenburg and 2,000,000 rix-dollars. 

Dennewitz, Battle of (Leipsic 
Campaign). — On 6 Sept. 1813, after 
some preliminary skirmishes in, which 
the advantag-e sometimes lay with the 
French under Ney and sometimes with 
the Prussians under Biilow and Tauen- 
zein, the French Army lay with its 
centre on the village of Dennewitz. 
The Prussian left advanced and drove 
Bertrand's men back, but the arrival 
of French reinforcements gave them 
great superiority in numbers. Ney, 
however, threw away his chance of 
victory by reinforcing the troops to the 
noTth instead of those in the south, and 
the Prussians captured an important 
positjion at the latter point. Strong re- 
inforcements of the Allies came to 
hand, and the French were crushed. 
Night alone saved them from utter 
rout, and their losses were enormous^ — 
9,000 killed and wounded, 15,000 
prisoners, and 80 guns, while the 
Prussians lost about 6,000 men. 

Deogaon, Treaty of.— The Treaty 
of Deogaon (12 Dec. 1803) was signed 
during the Mahratta War, in which 
the opposing parties were the British 
(under Arthur Wellesley) and the 
Indians of the Mahratta states, aided 
by the French. By the terms of this 
treaty Bhonsla, one of the powerful 
Indian chiefs concerned in the war, 
made peace with Britain, gave up 
Katak, agreed to receive a British, resi- 
dent, and promised to clear his 
dominions of foreigners whose coun- 
tries were at war with Great Britain. 

Desaix de Veysoux, Louis 
Charles Antoine (1768-1800).- 
French general; was born at St. 
Hilaire-d'Ayat, in Auvergne, on 
17 Aug. 1768. He was of noble birth, 
and his family had been connected 
with the army for generations ; was 
educated at Marshal d'Effiat's military 
college ; and ^t the age of fifteen 
entered the regiment of Bretagne as 
sub-lieutenant. At the outbreak of the 
Revolution he espoused the cause of 
liberty, and attracted much attention 
by his valour and discretion, his 
prompt measures and almost unvaried 
success. In 1792 he served on 
Broglie's staff, and very nearly lost 



DESAIX 

his life when Broglie was denounced 
and guillotined. Now, however, 
Desaix became a servant of the 
Republican government, and his ability 
ensured rapid promotion, so that by 
the year 1794 he had become general 
of division in the army of the Rhine. 
Count Lavalette, in his Memoirs, 
paints a telling portrait of Desaix as 
he appeared to his contemporaries at 
this time. " His stature was tall and 
his figure singular. He had fine, black, 
fiery eyes, and a nose that seemed to 
descend from the top of the forehead ; 
his thick and usually separated lips 
showed a set of teeth of sparkling 
whiteness ; his hair, flat and black as 
jet, shaded his dark face. His gait 
was embarrassed, but still without 
awkwardness, and betrayed bashful- 
ness and want of knowledge of the 
world. Altogether he resembled a 
savage of the banks of the Oroonoko 
dressed in French clothes. But one 
soon got accustomed to him. His 
voice was soft, and, when once drawn 
out of his usual reserve, he delighted 
by the variety of his information and 
the simplicity of his manners. He had 
none of the faults of men accustomed 
tO' camp life : I never heard him utter 
a vulgar expression — an indecent word 
made him blush. As he was con- 
stantly easy and kind, his staff led a 
merry life, and the pretty girls of the 
Palatinate used frequently to visit his 
headquarters. He smiled at our 
pleasures without sharing them, but 
with the indulgence of a, father who 
shuts his eyes 00 his children's wild 
tricks. I do not think I ever saw him 
dressed in the uniform of his rank : 
he usually wore a blue coat without 
any lace, and the sleeves of which were 
so short that we used to say in jest 
he had certainly worn it when he first 
took the sacrament." 

In the campaign of 1795 Desaix 
commanded Jourdan's right wing. 
After the battles of Amberg and 
Wurtzburg he was in charge of 
Moreau's rear-guard in the retreat, and 
the defence of Kehl was entrusted to 
him. In these positions his wisdom 
and decision marked him as one of 
France's most scientific officers. 
During the preliminaries of Leoben, 
he went tO' Italy to visit N. and his 



146 



DESAIX 

battlefields of victory ; and from that 
date until Ms death, a great friendship 
existed between the two men. N. took 
him with the expeditionary force to 
Eg^pt, and he was charg^ed with the 
conquest and subjection of Upper 
Eg-ypt. Here he added greatly to the 
successes of his chief : his division was 
conspicuous at the battle of the Pyra- 
mids, and he won many victories over 
Murad Bey and the other Egyptian 
chiefs. At the same time he gained 
the hearts of the inhabitants of the 
country, and Denon says that "his 
mild and unvarying- equity obtained 
for him the title of ' The Just Sultan.' 
How many wise ideas on civil govern- 
ment and philanthropy," adds the 
Baron, " suggfested themselves to> his 
mind when the sound of the trumpet 
and the roll of the drum ceased to 
give him the fever of Avar ! " Kleber 
(q.v.) succeeded Desaix in the com- 
mand in Egypt, and about the time of 
the signature of the treaty of El Arish, 
Desaix returned toi Europe. He joined 
N. in Italy, where he was giveni com- 
mand of two divisions of infantry. 
Arriving- with his men on the battlefield 
of Marengo at the moment when the 
Austrians Avere seemingly victorious, 
he exclaimed: "There is yet time to 
win another battle ! " and by his 
magnificent charge he turned the tide 
of the battle. While leading this 
charge he was struck through the 
heart by a bullet, and he fell tO' rise 
no more. Two' monuments were 
erected to his memory by N. — one 
on the Place Dauphine, and the 
other in the Place des Victoires, in 
Paris. 

N. considered Desaix and Kleber tO' 
be "his most distinguished lieutenants, 
both possessing great and rare merits, 
though their characters and disposi- 
tions were very different." He further 
said: "The talent of Desaix was 
always in full activity. He loved 
glory for glory's sake, and France 
above everything. Luxury he despised, 
and even comfort. He preferred 
sleeping under a gun in the open air 
to the softest couch. He was of an 
unsophisticated, active, pleasing 
character, and possessed extensive in- 
formation. The victor of Marengo 
shed tears for his death." N. believed 



DOVE 

Desaix's death tO' be the greatest loss 
he could possibly have sustained. 
Dessalines, Jean Jacques (1758- 

1806). — Emperor of Hayti ; was 
born in Guinea but taken to Hayti, 
and there sold as a slave to a French 
planter whose name he assumed. In 
the insurrection of 1791 he served 
under Toussaint I'Ouverture {q-v.)y 
who' trusted and advanced him. Un- 
doubtedly he possessed remarkable 
military genius and enormous energy, 
but of the same strength were his 
passions, his rapacity and cruelty. He 
betrayed Toussaint, his benefactor, 
and after the first compromise became 
governor of the southern part of the 
island. He then renewed the war, and 
after horrible cruelties compelled the 
French to evacuate St. Domingo {q.i).) 
in Oct. 1803. In the course of the 
year (1804) the independence of St. 
Domingo was declared, and to Des- 
salines was given the supreme power. 
This was not sufficient for him, how- 
ever, and he proceeded tO' get himself 
crowned as Emperor of Hayti, taking 
the name of Jean Jacques I. But even 
his staunchest supporters were soon 
disgusted by his utter savagery, de- 
bauchery and bloodtliirstiness, and a 
conspiracy, headed by a negro, 
Christophe (q-v.), and a mulatto, 
Petion, was formed. While trying to 
suppress this revolt, Dessalines was 
killed by Christophe, who succeeded 
him. 

Divorce of Josephine. — See 
Josephine. 

Douro, Passage of the. — A 
battle of the Peninsular War, fought 
on 12 May 1809, when a French Army 
under Soult tried to prevent a British 
force of 16,000 men under Sir Arthur 
Wellesley crossing the Douro. By the 
employment of boats, how^ever, the 
British succeeded in crossing the river 
in defiance of the galling musketry fire 
of the French, and after a stubborn 
resistance Soult was compelled to 
evacuate the town of Oporto. It was 
in this battle that General Rowland 
Hill, afterwards Lord Hill, first rose 
to eminence. 

Dove. — A postilion at Longwood 
so addicted to drink that it was con- 
sidered unsafe for N. to take carriage 
exercise when he drove. 



147 



DRESDEN 

Dresden, Battle of (Leipsic Cam- 
paign).— This great battle took place 
on 26 and 27 Aug. 1813, beg-inning 
late in the afternoon of the first day. 
The French under N., to the number 
of 120,000, occupied the entrench- 
ments and redoubts which defended 
Dresden, while they were fronted by 
nearly 200,000 Allies — Russians under 
Wittgenstein, Prussians under Kleist, 
and Austrians under Colleredo, and the 
Tsar, the King- of Prussia and 
Schwartzenberg also watched the 
fighting. On the evening of the 26th 
the French remained unshaken, and the 
Allies had to draw off with serious 
losses. On the 27th N. attacked both 
flanks, and the Allies were completely 
beaten. During the battle Moreau was 
fatally wounded by a French shell while 
talking to the Tsar, The Allies' losses 
amounted to 38,000 men, 14 colours 
and 26 guns, while the French lost 
about 10,000, The battle of Dresden 
was the last of N,'s great victories. 

Driving. — N. is said to have been 
a most reckless driver. Constant 
relates how on one occasion, when out 
in the park with his wife and Cam- 
bac^r^s, he took it into his head that 
he would like to drive the four horses 
harnessed to his carriagfe, which had 
been presented to him by the inhabi- 
tants of Antwerp. Taking the reins 
from Caesar, the coachman, he 
mounted the box, when immediately 
the horses, which were young and 
fresh, started off at a gfallop. Caesar 
shouted "Keep to the left," and Cam- 
bac^r^s, turning even paler than usual, 
roared out "Stop, stop, you will smash 
us up ! " To these exclamations, how- 
ever, the First Consul paid no heed, 
for the horses were already beyond his 
control and were dashing along^ at a 
frantic rate of speed. As they neared 
the iron gates one of the wheels struck 
a milestone and the carriage was 
upset. Luckily the horses stopped. 
The First Consul was thrown violently 
upon his face and fainted, but Mme. 
Bonaparte and Cambac^rfes escaped 
with slight bruises. N., who had had 
a nasty shaking, turned the matter off 
as a joke, and merely had his bruises 
treated with eau-de-Cologne, his 
favourite remedy. Cambac^rfes' terror 
amused him hugely, and alluding to 



DUGOMMIER 

the coachman he remarked, "One 
must render unto Caesar the things 
that are Caesar's! Let him keep his 
whip. Everybody to their trade." At 
the same time he admitted that he had 
never felt so near death before, and 
that for a few seconds it really seemed 
to him as though he were dead. 

Dubois, Louis Nicholas Pierre 
Joseph (1758-1845).— Made prefect 
of police in 1799. It is believed 
that he owed his long term of office 
in this capacity to the fact that N. 
found him useful as a spy on the 
doings of Fouche, of whom, he was a 
bitter enemy. In spite of Bonaparte's 
aversion to Dubois, he created him a 
count in 1808, and a member of the 
council of state, which seat he occu- 
pied until the fall of the Empire. After 
being a member of the Chamber during 
the Hundred Days, he retired to Vitry- 
sur-Seine, where he died in 1845. I^^ 
was succeeded by Pasquier, whom N. 
warned regarding the "abominable 
state " in which he would find his sub- 
ordinates, 

Ducrest, Georgette.— Was a re- 
lative of Mme, de Genlis, and author 
of Memoirs, which have been much 
read and quoted, and derive their 
value from the fact that after 
Josephine's divorce she occasionally 
played and sang for the ex-Empress. 
She married M, Bochsa, the then 
celebrated composer of Dansomaine 
and Noces de Gamache. He deserted 
hef, and her voice failing-, she turned, 
as a means of livelihood, to the pen 
and the Memoirs, of which effort M. 
Masson says : "In the midst of 
apocryphal documents, uncontroverted 
anecdotes, impossible situations, there 
are yet to be found some first-hand 
personal observations." The letters 
from N, to Josephine that she 
"quotes" are not authentic. 

Dugommier, Jean Francois 
Coquilie (1736-94). — The g-eneral 
under whom N. served in his first 
eng-ag-ement ; was born at Mar- 
tinique in 1736. The family had been 
settled in the colony for some little 
time, and before the Revolution owned 
property there worth two million 
livres. Dugommier entered military 
service at an early age, but owing to 
some injustice abandoned his career 

148 



DUGOMMIER 

and retired to his plantation. In 1789 
he was, however, appointed colonel of 
the National Guards of the island, and 
took part in the defence of Fort St. 
Peter. In the year 1792 he went to 
France as representative of the colony 
of Martinique to the National Con- 
ventiion, and among* other thing-s 
soug-ht the aid of that body for the 
patriot colonists who were then suffer- 
ing great distress. In Sept. 1793 he 
w-as appointed general of brigade, and 
later commander-in-chief of the army 
in Italy, where he gained some notable 
successes over the Austro-Sardinians, 
almost always with inferior forces, 
espedially at Gillette (18-19 Oct.,) and 
on the 22nd of the same month at 
Hutel. In Nov. he succeeded Car- 
teaux in the operations at Toulon, 
behaved there with conspicuous 
bravery, and took possession of the 
place after five days and nights of 
fighting and fatigne. In this engage- 
ment Napoleon Bonaparte served 
under him as commandant d'artillerie ; 
he was then for the first time under 
fire, and displayed much of thei ability 
which afterwards made him famous. 
In Dugommier's report to the Con- 
vention occurs the following : "Among 
those who most distinguished them- 
selves and gave me most assistance lin 
rallying and leading the troops were 
the citizens Bonaparte, commander of 
artillery, Ar^na, and Cervoni, 
adjutants." It is further stated that 
when Dugpommier met the representa- 
tives he presented Bonaparte to them 
with the words : " He is an officer of 
the greatest merit, and if you do not 
advance him he will know how to raise 
himself." In 1794 Dugommier was 
appointed commander-in-chief of the 
army of the Pyrenn^es Orientales, and 
soon gamed over the Spaniards advan- 
tages equally rapid and declisive. On 
27 and 29 April he defeated them at 
Omo and drove them fromi C^ret; in 
May he gained the battle of Albudes 
and carried the post of Montesquieu, 
an advantage which gave intO' his 
hands nearly 200 cannon and 2,000 
prisoners. On the 4th of the month 
he blocked up Collioure, after two 
engagements at Cape Beam and Puiz- 
de-las-Doines. He was wounded before 
this town on the i6th and took it on 



DUMAS 

the 26th, after having entered the forts 
of St. Elme and Port Vendre. In Aug. 
he was at St. Laurent de la Monga, 
where he defied the Spanish Army, a 
force of 50,000 men, while in Sept. he 
took possession of Bellegarde, the last 
French town occupied by the enemy. 
The same month he captured their 
camps at Costouges, but at Sierra 
Nigra, while forcing back the left wing 
of the Spanish troops, he was killed 
by the bursting of a shell. The Con- 
vention decreed that the name of 
Dugommier should be inscribed on a 
column in the Pantlieon. He left three 
sons : twoi were adjutants-general in 
his army, one of themi bding taken 
prisoner and dying in an English 
prison ; the third was lost on a voyage 
to America. 

Duhesme, Philippe Guillaume, 
Count (1766-1815).— French general; 
was born at Bourgneuf (Sadne- 
et - Loire). He fought in the 
Peninsular War, and led an army 
corps of 14,000 men to Barcelona 
in 1808. The chief forts and the 
citadel were seized, and Duhesme 
carried all before him. He occupied 
the stronghold, but during the spring 
of that year became cut off from the 
main body stationed at Madrid and 
subsequently from all communication 
by a general rising of the province. 
To make a way through to Perpignan 
he attacked the fortress of Gerona. 
Failing in this, he was obliged to 
retreat to Barcelona, where he re- 
mained blockaded during four months. 
Gouvion Saint-Cyr was finally sent to 
succour Duhesme, and their united 
armies defeated the army of Catalonia 
at Molins del Rey, just outside Barce- 
lona on 21 Dec. 1808. He was killed 
at Waterloo, where he was in com- 
mand of the Young Guard. 

Dumas, Guiilaume Mathieu, 
Count (1753-1837).— French general. 
He joined the army in 1773 and 
served in the American War of Inde- 
pendence as aide-de-camp toi Rocham- 
beau. From 1783 to 1786 he under- 
took the exploration of the coasts of 
Turkey. At the Revolution he assisted 
Lafayette and his party, and the 
Assembly gave him the command of 
the escort which conducted Louis XVI. 
to Paris from Varennes. In 1791 the 



149 



DUMAS 

Legislative Assembly had chosen him 
as a member, and twelve months later 
he was elected its president. When 
the extreme Republican party over- 
threw the Assembly Dumas was 
foirced to make his escape toi Eng-land. 
He returned in the midst of the Revo- 
lution, but had tO' retire to> Switzer- 
land. He was proiscribed as a 
monarchist, and afterwards lived in 
Holstein. When N. became First 
Consul, he was recalled to France and 
entrusted with the organization of the 
army of reserve at Dijon. He became 
councillor of state in 1801, contributed 
to the victory at Austerlitz, and in 
1806 was dispatched to Naples as 
minister of war toi Joseph Bonaparte, 
on whose transfer toi the throne of 
Spain Dumas rejoined the French 
Army. He served in the Peninsula 
during 1808 and lin Germany in the 
following year, negotiating the armis- 
tice after the battle of Wagram. In 
1810 he was appointed grand officer of 
the Legion of Honour and granted the 
title of count. During the Russian 
campaign of 1812 he bad charge of 
the administrative department, a post 
which he also held in the German cam- 
paign of 181 3, but on the capitulation 
of Dresden he fell into^ the hands of 
the Allies. On the restoration of 
Louis XVHL Dumas was retained as 
administrative deviser to^ the army, and 
rendered important service in this con- 
nexion. On N.'s return from Elba, 
Dumas remained in retirement, but 
Joseph Bonaparte prevailed upon him 
to present himself to the Emperor, who' 
straightway appointed him to organize 
the National Guard. When Louis 
XVHL was restored he agalin took up 
some literary work which he had com- 
menced while living in Holstein, and 
this resulted in his Precis des evene- 
ments militaires in nineteen volumes, 
which embraced the history of the war 
from 1798 toi the peace of i8og, and 
which appeared! between 181 7 and 
1826. He was prevented from carry- 
ing the work further by blindness, but 
as a species of continuation of it he 
translated Napier's Peninsular War. 
In 1818 he was once more recognized 
by the court and made a member of the 
council of state, from which, however, 
he was excluded in 1822. He took an 



DUPHOT 

active part in the Revolution of 1830, 
after which he was created a peer of 
France and re-entered the council of 
state. He died) at Paris on 16 Oct. 

1837- 

Oumouriez, Charles Francois 

(1739-1823).— French general and 
politician. This French soldier, re- 
membered chiefly as a powerful foe of 
N. first distinguished himself in the 
later German campaigns of the Seven 
Years' War; while subsequently he 
travelled in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and 
Corsica ; and, having drawn up an able 
memorial concerning Corsican affairs, 
he received from, Louis XVI. an 
appointment in the secret service. On 
the dawn of the Revolution, he joined 
the Jacobin Club, at the same time 
growing friendly with Mirabeau ; while 
having attached himself toi the Giron- 
dist party, he reverted to soldiering, 
and commanded an army successfully 
against the Prussians in 1792, defeat- 
ing them at Valmy on 20 Sept. In the 
following year, however, he was 
severely defeated by the Austrians at 
Neerwindten ; and the Convention, sus- 
pecting him of treachery, summoned 
him to Paris, and to; save his head 
he crossed over tO' the Austrian camp 
along with the Due de Chartres, after- 
wards King Louis-Philippe. Thence- 
forward he wandered from country to 
country, eternally occupied with plots 
against N., who suspected him of 
being implicated in the Cadoudal- 
Pichegru conspiracy of 1803, which led 
to the judicial murder of the Due 
d'Englhien. Whether the First Con- 
sul's suspicions on this occasion were 
correct or not, Dumouriez certainly 
entered the service of England in 1804 ; 
and from that time until 181 5 he 
proved most useful to the British war 
office, furnishing information about 
N.'s plans, in return for which labours 
he received ;^i,209 a year. His 
Memoires, published at Hamburg 
while he was alive, were reissued 
at Paris in 1823; and in 1908 there 
appeared an interesting book about 
him, Dumouriez and the Defence of 
England, by Holland Rose and A. M. 
Broadley. 

Duphot, Leonard (1770 - 98).— 
French general ; was born at Lyons. 
Adopting the military profession, he 



150 



DUPONT 

rose rapidly, being- adjutant-gfeneral of 
the army of the Eastern Pyrenees in 
1792 and assistingf at the capture of 
FiguS^res. He commanded Aug"ereau's 
advance-guard in the Italian cam- 
paign of 1796, and lin the following 
year was sent with Joseph Bonaparte 
upon his embassy toi Rome. During 
a disturbance in that city in Dec. 1798 
Duphot was killed by a shot from the 
Papal troops whom he was endeavour- 
ing to prevent from firing on the 
mob. 

Dupont De L'Etang:, Pierre An- 

toine (1765-1840) He entered the 

army and distingfuished hlimself at 
Valmy, capturing" an Austrian force in 
1793. He was made general of brig-ade 
and, in 1797, general of division. He 
came under the notice of N. while en- 
gaged in the coup d'etat of Brumaire ; 
and in 1800 fougfht in the battle of 
Marengo under Berthier, and at 
Pozzolo, where he gained a brilliant 
victory. In 1805, under Ney, he won 
further fame in the Austrian cam- 
paign, and in 1807 at Friedland, while 
in 1808 he commanded a corps in the 
invasion of Spain. He wasi created a 
count after the occupation of Madrid, 
and dispatched to subdue Andalusia, 
but fell into disgrace for capitulating 
to the Spaniards at Baylen. This 
catastrophe, through little fault of his 
own, caused his downfall. He was 
recalled and court-martialled, bereft of 
his rank and title, and imprisoined for 
two years. On the eve of N.'s exile 
to Elba he was released and employed 
by Louis XVIII., but lost this position 
during the Hundred Days, only to 
regain it at the second Restoration. 
He was elected toi the Conseil Privee 
of Louis XVIII., and during thirty 
years was deputy for the Charente. 
Dupont wrote several military works, 
among- which Opinion sur le nouveaii 
mode de recrutement (1818), Lettres 
sur VEspagne en 1808, and Lettre sur 
la campagne d'Austriche appeared 
successively. A few poems and verse 
translations from> Horace were also 
published during this period (1818-38), 
while his Memoires were on the point 
of completion at his death in 1840. 

Duroc< G^raud Christophe 
Michel, Due de Friuii (1772-1813). 
— French g-eneral ; was born at Pont- 



DURRENSTEIN 

i-Mousson, received the usual educa- 
tion for a military career, and entered 
the artillery in 1792. Upon his meet- 
ings N. at Toulon the two men formed 
an intimacy Which endured througfh 
life. Duroc accompanied Bonaparte to 
Italy in 1796, and distinguished him- 
self at Gradisca. In Egypt he took 
part in the battles of Aboukir, Jaffa, 
and St. Jean d'Acre. Following on 18 
Brumaiire he .was made g-eneral of 
brigade ; in 1804 he was promoted 
general of division and made grand 
marshal of the palace, a post which, 
including as it did constant attendance 
on N. and responsibility for his safety, 
Duroc filled with consummate dis- 
cretion and success. At Austerlitz he 
commanded the Guard, and was pre- 
sent at Wagram and Essling. He was 
also entrusted with many diplomatic 
missions, including negotiations at 
St. Petersburg, Vienna, Stockholm, 
and Copenhagen. He treated with 
Frederick William, and in 1808 con- 
cluded the armistice of Znaim. Duroc 
was made a duke in the same year, 
and senator in 1813. After the battle 
of Bautzen, while riding into the 
village of Mackersdorf at N.'s side, 
the grand marshal was mortally 
wounded by a chance shot. N. felt 
deeply the death of !his old friend and 
companioni ; he erected a monument on 
the scene of Wis death, and in the will 
made at St, Helena he left numerous 
legacies to the family. Duroc' s re- 
mains were ultimately placed in 
the Invalides beside those of the 
Emperor. 

Diirrenstein, Battle of.— A battle 
of the Austerlitz campaign, which took 
place on 11 Nov. 1805 during N.'s 
advance on Vienna. A French division 
numbering about 5,000 under Mortier, 
when emerging from the defiles of 
Diirrenstein, was suddenly attacked by 
30,000 Russians, both in front and in 
rear, and had it not been for the timely 
arrival' of Dupont's division Mortier's 
little force would probably have been 
annihilated. As it was he lost 3,000 
men, and the Russians suffered as 
heavily. This untoward affair greatly 
annoyed N., For it completely upset his 
plan of campaign. In addition to this 
it was a blot on his arms, for his 
troops had been outgeneralled. 



151 



EAGLE 



E 



Eaerle, The French.— When N. 
became Emperor on© of his first acts 
was the selection of armorial bearings 
to replace the Phrygian cap and 
Roman axe and fasces of the Repub- 
lic. This task occupied a session of 
the Imperial Council, the Gallic cock 
was the suggestion of some, this only 
arousing the contempt of N. At last 
the symbol of the lion was adopted 
provisionally. Yet this did not please 
him, and striking his pen through the 
report of the committee he wrote above 
it "un Aigle iployd," the symbol that 
was destined to become so famous on 
the battlefields of Europe. Jean Bap- 
tiste Isabey {q.v.) was entrusted with 
the design. The new standards were 
presented to the troops at a grand 
review in the Champ de Mars — the 
standards that carried N.'s fame at 
Austerlitz, at Jena, at Wagram, in 
Spain, and in Russia. At the end of 
the Hundred Days many of the Eagles 
were broken up publicly by the 
colonels at a last parade, others were 
given into the keeping of officers, 
whilst a few are preserved at the In- 
valides, including three that were 
carried at Waterloo. Upwards of a 
hundred and thirty, found on the 
various battlefields, hang in the 
cathedrals, chapels and arsenals of 
different European capitals. Only one 
French Naval Eagle, however, is in 
existence, that of the " Atlas " and 
which is now preserved in Madrid. 
See The War Drama of the Eagles, 
by Edward Eraser, Murray, 1912. 

Ebersberg:, Battle of (Wagram 
Campaign).— At Ebersberg, on 3 May 
1809, the left wing of the Austrian 
Army under Hiller made a splendid 
stand against the French advance- 
guard under Mass6na. Owing to the 
gallantry of the French, however, the 
Austrians were overwhelmed after 
fierce fighting, and Hiller was obliged 
to fall back towards Vienna. During 
the storming of the bridge over the 
Traun and afterwards of the castle of 
Ebersberg the slaughter was frightful, 
6,000 men on each side being sacri- 
ficed. The number of troops engaged 
was about equal — 35,000 men. 



ECOLE 

Eckmiihl, Battle of (Wagram 

Campaign).— Fought on 22 April 1809 
between the French under N. and the 
Austrians under the Archduke Charles. 
The Emperor ordered Vandamme to 
seize the town of Echmiihl ; Lannes 
was sent to outflank the enemy, while 
Davout threw his men upon their right. 
After two hours' hard fighting the Aus- 
trians were forced to retire. N. then 
sent his reserve cavalry forward to 
harass their retreat, and a desperate 
action took place between the Aus^ 
trian and French cuirassiers, whichi 
terminated in the Austrian cavalry 
being driven in disorder towards 
Ratisbon, whither the Archduke with- 
drew his vanquished army, a disaster 
being probably averted by N.'s de- 
cision not to follow up his victory 
owing to the tired condition of his own 
troops. 

Ecole Militaire de Paris, Life of 
N. at the (30 Oct. 1784-28 Oct. 
1785). — This school, founded by 
Louis XV., and at first faliling in its 
primary object by reason of undue 
liberty and luxury, was in 1776 com- 
pletely reorganized by the C^omte de 
St. Germain, to whose zeal the other 
military schools, of which Brienne 
{q.v.) was one, owed their existence. 
In founding the provincial schools, 
which educated six hundred pupils, St. 
Germain had designed that the best of 
these should supply the students for 
the Ecole Militaire. There, as at 
Brienne, were the royal pupils, sons 
of poor nobles forming the majority, 
and the minority composed of pen- 
sioners, sons of the greatest families 
in France who held certain positions 
in the army as if by hereditary right. 
The cost of each pupil was £170 per 
annum. At St. Helena N. described 
the living there to Las Cases as 
follows : " At the Ecole Militaire we 
were served and fed in a sumptuous 
manner and treated always like young- 
officers brought up to the greatest 
luxury, far exceeding the condition of 
most of our families." Thus the 
courses at dinner were soup, meat, two 
entrees, two helpings of dessert; at 
supper, roast, two entremets, salad, 
three helpings of dessert ; always with 
a mixture of half wine and water. 
Their linen was changf . by the 



152 



ECOLE 

students three times a week, and twice 
a year, springy and autumn, they re- 
ceived new uniforms. During- N.'s 
sojourn there these were blue with red 
fading's. The attendants of the estab- 
lishment, from professors to grooms, 
numbered iii. 

The riding-school attached toi the 
college was reputed to be the best in 
Europe, and the masters of this, as 
of fencing, were men well known in 
their professions ; while there were also 
teachers of dancing. 

The professorial staff consisted of 
five for the teaching of mathematics ; 
three, history and geography ; two, 
French grammar ; three, German ; one 
Eng-lish master ; three for fortifica- 
tions ; drawing three, and writing one. 

N.'s sojourn was spent in prepara- 
tion for the examination by which he 
hoped to gain admission into the 
artillery. The chief study for this was 
the Cours de Mathematiques by 
Bezout, who was also one of the 
examiners, together with Laplace, of 
the artillery school at Metz. N. devoted 
himself to the study of the four 
volumes of Bezout, and he celebrated 
the finishing of the course by the fol- 
lowing lines scribbled on the fly-leaf 
of the fourth volume : 
"Grand Bezout, achfeve ton cours. 

Mais avant, permet-moi de dire 

Qu'ans aspirants tu donnes secours. 

Cela est parfaitement vrai. 

Malis je ne cesserai pas de rire 

Lorsque je I'aurai acheve 

Pour le plus tard au mois de mai 

Je ferai alors le conseiller." 
N.'s social character was of much 
the same tenor as at Brienne, his 
friendship being at first confined to 
his four Brienne schoolmates, thougfh 
it was here that he met Desmazis, who 
was to become his best and closest 
fr'iend. Strange to say, he also met 
here that enemy of his, Ph^lippeaux, 
two years older than himself, whose 
dislike seemed to be instinctive, for 
they fought when seated on the school- 
forms in class-time, as later when they 
were ranged against each other at the 
siege of Acre. 

It cannot be said that N. specially 
distinguished himself while at the 
Ecole Militaire, for he never became 
sergeant-major or commander of a 



EGYPT 

division in the military organization of 
the school, but in the final examination 
he was successful the first time though 
only a year under tuition. In the 
second week of Sept. 1785 N., with 
seventeen others, was presented for 
examination by the Ecole Militaire, 
Laplace being the examiner. The 
results were known about a fortnig'ht 
later, and out of the fifty-eight success- 
ful candidates from all schools N. was 
one of the four from the Paris school. 
N. was third of these four, but both 
Peccaduc and Phelippeaux, w'ho came 
before him, were older by a year or 
two. The order was : Peccaduc, 39 ; 
Phelippeaux, 41 ; Bonaparte, 42 ; and 
Desma2iis, 56. This success was due, 
it is stated, to his gift for mathematics, 
and undoubtedly he worked hard at 
that subject, per'haps more seriously 
after the death of his father and the 
consequent realization that he must 
rely more than ever on his own efforts 
to carve out a career in the world. A 
few weeks after this success, N., 
together with Desmazis, left Paris for 
Valence, where the regiment of La 
Ffere, to which they were gazetted as 
second lieutenants, was in garrison. 
See The Growth of Napoleon, by 
Norwood Young. 

Egypt, N.'s Occupation of (1798). 
— N.'s object in occupying Egypt in 
1798 was ostensibly to liberate it from 
the thrall of its Mameluke usurpers. 
It was as revolutionists that the French 
were to undertake its liberation, and 
N. declared to the Egyptians in his 
propaganda that he reverenced the 
Prophet and the Koran far more than 
did the Mamelukes. The French, he 
told the natives of the Nile country, 
were sincere Moslems, and had over- 
thrc'ivn the power of Rome. The 
expedition appealed greatly to the 
imagination of Bonaparte. The 
treasures of Italy and Switzerland 
were spent in his own preparations. 
Every general of ability and every 
regiment of excellence was destined 
for Egypt ; the national treasure was 
depleted ; inferior troops were left at 
home ; and it w^as a large and well- 
ordered host that set its face east- 
wards to the land of the Pyramids. 
N. hazarded much in this throw, 
which appealed tO' the oriental and 



153 



EGYPT 

romantic side of his temperament. 
Matters were working- well for him 
in France, and public opinion was 
ripenings in his favour; but the pro- 
cess was a slow one, and, ere matters 
came to the passi he desired, he miig-ht 
have tO' wait, as he said toi Bour- 
rienne, "for a few months or for six 
years." What, then, could he doi better 
than to embark on such a picturesque 
crusade, where he had every hope of 
g^aining fresh laurels? Nelson had 
been on the look out for the expedi- 



THE CAUEAIGNS 

tMf 

£GT|>T& SYRIA 

« ao 40 w w «io 




tion off the French! coast, but had been 
dHiven from his position by a storm, 
and took refuge in the lee of Sardinia, 
and the Armada passed him. Learn- 
ing this, he hastened to Egypt only to 
find the roadstead of Alexandria empty. 
He then sailed for Syria, but had 
once more passed his foe, for N., 
learning off Crete that he was pursued, 
sailed northwards through the Candian 
Sea, while Nelson took the direct line 
on the other side. 

Bonaparte found Egypt in a state 



EGYPT 

probably unparalleled in history. The 
Mamelukes, mostly men purchased as 
children in Georgia or Circassia, had 
formed themselves into a warrior caste 
which obeyed no authority save that of 
its officers, and which, numbered some 
8,000 men. It had been reduced to a 
nominal submission in 1517, but it 
still governed the land with despotic 
power, and bade defiance to the rule 
of the Porte. Arriving !in Alexandria 
on 2 July, the French Army suffered a 
bitter disillusionment, for the once rich 
and far-famed city had 
shrunk into insignificance. 
No booty was to be found 
in its squalid streets, and 
the march to Cairo was a 
dreadful ordeal, tramping, 
as they did, through the 
dry hot sand, harassed by 
mounted skirmishers on 
every side. On 13 July 
at Shebreket they were 
attacked by the outposts 
of the Mamelukes under 
Murad Bey, and easily re- 
pelled the attacks of the 
gorgeously attired horse- 
men. The enemy with- 
drew and concentrated 
their force at Om Dinar, 
before Cairo, and on 21 
July N. attacked in 
squares, so as to cut off 
the enemy's retreat south- 
wards, ordering his men to 
halt only when necessary 
to receive a charge. It 
was on this occasion that 
he made his memorable 
address to the troops 
which commences: "Sol- 
diers, forty centuries look 
down upon you from the 
summit of the Pyramids." Murad and 
his men dashed upon the ranks of 
Desaix, only to be crushed. Murad 
retreated in a southward direction, 
while Ibrahim, his fellow-leader, fled 
eastwards across the river. The 
Egyptian infantry scattered and ran ; 
many of the Mamelukes were drowned 
in the Nile, and as it was their custom 
to cover themselves with jewelry and 
other trophies, the French soldiers 
dragged their corpses out of the water 
and stripped them of their finery. 



154 



EGYPT 

Later N. was wont to smile at the 
mention of the Battle of the Pyramids, 
and his proclamation, which he ad- 
mitted contained the elements of char- 
latanism. But the results were not 
without importance. It meant the 
surrender of Cairo, the capital of 
Egypt, and the achievement of vic- 
tory in such circumstances and in 
such an atmosphere thrilled the heart 
of France and added fresh lustre to 
N.'s laurels. Only thirty French sol- 
diers were killed, and 120 wounded. 
There was no more loot to be found 
at Cairo than at Alexandria, and the 
soldiers were disappointed. Egypt 
was subdued, but the army of occu- 
pation was in a desperate condition 
indeed, for the defeat of the French 
fleet at Aboukir left it nO' alternative 
but to remain where it was. But it 
did not diminish the activity of Bona- 
parte. He made as if to occupy the 
country for the rest of his life. The 
utmost respect was paid toi its institu- 
tions and its religion. Menou and a 
number of other generals made an 
open profession of Islam: indeed, N. 
on one occasion pretended to a mufti 
that he was a proselyte to his creed, 
which he pronounced with an air of 
conviction. The captured Mamelukes 
and others were enrolled in the French 
battalions, drilled and disciplined. All 
this was part of a scheme to effect 
a religious and political revolution in 
the East on the plan of the revolution 
in France. Resistance of any kind 
met with speedy punishment, and 
executions were numerous ; but this 
sort of policy was; understood lin 
Egypt, and flourished exceedingly. 
The Turks, however, were mustering in 
Syria, and it was necessary tO' squash 
them. Kleber w^as put at the head of 
12,000 men and sent on in advance, 
followed by N., who. arrived at El 
Arish on 17 Feb. 1799. He left Egypt 
beihind him in quite a settled condi- 
tion. Unwelcome innovations on the 
part of the conquerors had irritated 
the Egyptians, and the relations be- 
tween them and the French had grown 
daily more strained, until at last on 
the occasion of the introduction of a 
house tax an insurrection had broken 
out in Cairo in Oct. 1798, but it had 
been met promptly, and a native 



EGYPT 

divan had been reconstituted to deal 
justice open-handedly. A bad taste 
had been left in the popular mouth, 
however, by the stabling of French 
cavalry in the mosque of Azhar. 

With K16ber, N. invested El Arish, 
which in three days surrendered. 
Gaza fell shortly afterwards, and sur- 
rendered important munitions of war. 
Three days sufficed to take Jaffa, 
where 2,000 troops surrendered on 
promise of their lives. But a council 
of war unanimously voted that the old 
rule under which no quarter is given 
to defenders at an assault should be 
applied to them, and they were shot. 
Eye-witnesses placed their number at 
from 1,200 to 4,000. There is no 
mention of or excuse for the fact in 
N.'s correspondence, but it would 
seem that he intended to deal as an 
oriental with orientals. In Jan. he 
had ordered Murat to kill all the 
prisoners of a hostile tribe in the 
desert Whom he could not bring away, 
and in the same month similar orders 
were issued to Berthier concerning 
another tribe. It has been said that 
the men thus slaughtered had been 
found again with arms in their hands, 
that there were no French prisoners 
for w^hom to exchange them and no 
provisions with which to support them, 
that they could not be left where 
they w^ere nor marched along with 
the army ; but there cannot be any 
excuse or palliation for such an 
abominable act of barbarism. 

Foreseeing a severe resistance at 
St. Jean d'Acre, the Pasha's capital, 
N. provided himself with a siege train, 
which he dispatched by sea from Alex- 
andria, but this was captured by 
Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, who sent 
Phelippeaux, a French emigre and an 
old schoolmate of N.'s, to the city 
in charge of the captured artillery, 
which he mounted on its ramparts. 
Acre was thus supported by an English 
fleet, protected by artillery and easily 
provisioned, whereas N. had no siege 
batteries whatsoever. After nine days' 
fighting he effected a breach by means 
of a mine, but the assault which 
followed was repulsed. Three wrecks 
later an army of 25,000 men under 
Abdullah approached from Damascus 
to relieve Gezzah. Kleber was sent 



155 



EGYPT 

to check their advance, and he met 
them at Nazareth. The Turks were 
in overwhelming- numbers, and N. 
was forced to go to the assistance of 
his advance-gTjard. On i6 April he 
drew up Ms army on the plain of 
Esdraelon. Hidden by the sand, he 
advanced until close up to the Turks, 
when he charged and threw them into 
utter rout. Returning to Acre, he 
resumed the siege in the most resolute 
manner. He succeeded in bringing up 
some heavy guns from Jaffa, effected 
a breach, seized the tower v/hich con- 
trolled the outworks, only to have his 
storming-parties thrown back. Durling 
the first fortnight in May a succession 
of assaults were hurled at the devoted 
walls of Acre. The loss of life was 
appalling-. N. had bad news from 
France regfarding Austrian activity in 
Italy, and he also now learned that 
reinforcements were being huriiied 
from Constantinople to the city he was 
beleagueriing. Pestilence also broke 
out in the French camp, and worked 
dire havoc among his men. On 7 
May, however, Kleber's division suc- 
ceeded in carrying the first and second 
works lin the teeth of a terrific fire from 
Sir Sidney Smith's ships an3 the guns 
of the forts, but this attempt also 
was doomed to disappointment, for 
although the troops scaled the out- 
works they were forced backwards 
by the truly terrific fire with whidh 
they were met from the houses linside 
the walls. On the 17th the siege was 
abandoned : it had lasted sixty-two 
days ; forty assaults had been made, 
and 4,000 men and four g-enerals had 
been sacrificed during- its continuation. 
His army was now reduced to 8,000 
men, and after nine days' march 
through burning sand this force suc- 
ceeded in reaching Caliro, where they 
were soon refreshed by rest and 
proper food. A great deal was made 
of the expedition by its leader, who 
told his soldiers that but for the ter- 
rible climatic conditions, the pestilence 
and the lack of artillery, they would 
have taken Acre; and, indeed, the 
return of the French to Cairo had 
all the appearance of a triumphal 
entry. 

Twelve thousand Turks had sailed 
from Rhodes, and on 20 July appeared 



ECSYPT 

in transports off Alexandria, but the 
ships which brought them were re- 
pulsed by the forts, so that they were 
forced to draw off and affect a land- 
ing- at Aboukir. They at once com- 
menced to entrench themselves, hoping 
that they would be joined by Murad, 
but he could not effect a junction with 
them. A Syrlian contingent also dis- 
appointed them. N. mardhed out to 
meet them with 9,000 men, and on 
25 July gave them battle. Outflanking- 
them on the left and then on the rigfht, 
he drove them into the sea, but 3,000 
of them took refuge in a citadel which 
they had) constructed at the head of 
the peninsula of Aboukir. On i Aug. 
1799, however, these surrendered, so 
that none escaped. 

The French Army had now received 
noi news from Paris for nearly six 
months, and when it did come it was 
by no means heartening- unless to N. 
himself. For no sooner was he con- 
vinced that the crisis he had long- fore- 
seen was actually occurring than he 
told Marmont that the state of things 
in Europe would compel Mm to return. 
He took his measures promptly and 
secretly, placed Kl^ber at the head 
of the army, and, preparing" the two 
frigates which lay in the harbour of 
Alexandria, in the early hours of 
22 Aug. embarked, accompanied by 
Murat, Lannes, Marmont, Berthier, 
Duroc, Bessi^res, Lavalette and 
others, and set sail. 

The army he had left behind — 
"abandoned" might be a better 
word to use — was now reduced to 
half its origfinal numbers, was desti- 
tute of provender and ammunition, 
surrounded by a population which 
thirsted for its blood, and cut oft" 
from all likelihood of escape by a 
powerful fleet. A better example of 
how honour may become subservient 
to ambition the world has perhaps 
never witnessed. Possibly N. con- 
sidered that it was Ms mission to 
save Corsica. Kl^ber, whom he had 
made an appointment with to say 
farewell — an appointment which he 
had failed to keep — entered an angry 
protest against the position in which 
he found himself deserted, but it was 
intercepted by English cruisers and 
did not reach its destinatlion. Sir 



156 



EGYPT 

Sidney Smith had betaken himself to 
Cyprus to renew his water supply, 
and the French frigates took this 
opportunity of slipping- past him. 
They coasted along the northern 
shores of Africa, and with lights out 
they crossed from the vicinity of 
Tunis, skirted Sardinia and reached 
Corsica early in Oct. This was N.'s 
last visit to the island of his birth. 

But to return to the army in Egypt : 
Kl^ber, left iin charge of it, speedily 
recognized the desperate situation of 
the soi-disant French "colony," and 
early in 1800 concluded with Sir 
Sidney Smith at El Arish a treaty 
for honourable withdraw^al. There 
was considerable delay in acceptance 
of these terms in) London, and in the 
interval Kleber, alarmed by the gather- 
ing masses of Turkish troops, attacked 
the command at Heliopolis, an army 
of no less than 70,000 men, with the 
12,000 at his command. After a fierce 
battle he succeeded in almost sweep- 
ing it out of existence. With admir- 
able strength of purpose and a heroic 
determination to make good his posi- 
tion at all costs, he turned his atten- 
tion to the administration of the 
country, and was proceeding vigorously 
to reorganize its institutions on a 
sounder basis than they hitherto had 
been under the rule of the French, when 
he was assassinated by a Mahom- 
medan fanatic on the very day when 
Desaix was killed at Marengo. The 
French occupation of Egypt dragged 
on for another miserable year. Menou 
succeeded Kleber, but he found the 
position untenable, and at the end of 
the term stated surrendered as had 
been originally agreed upon. One 
disaster after another overtook Menou, 
so that his surrender was by no means 
to his discredit. On i Oct. 1801 the 
preliminaries of the treaty by which 
the French agreed to withdraw from 
Egyptian territory were ratified, and 
■Egypt was restored tO' Turkey's 
suzerainty. 

In 1803 SebastianI (q.v.) in a long 
report published in the Moniteur, set 
forth the possibility of re-establishing 
French colonies in Egypt. " Six thou- 
sand French troops," said he, "could 
now acquire Egypt." This was really 
a political offset to England's deter- 



ELBA 

mination to retain the island of Malta. 
But not again did N. desire to set 
foot in the land of the Pharaohs, or 
to dispatch an expedition thither. 
Such a scheme depended entirely upon 
his ability to maintain command of 
the seas, and by that time such hopes 
had completely vanished from view. 

Eichsfeld. — A town in Prussia ; one 
of the bishoprics which was handed 
over to Prussia by France through a 
treaty in 1802 in compensation for 
the territories which surrendered on 
the left bank of the Rhine. 

Elba, N.'s Captivity in.— N. ab- 
dicated on II April 1814, and on the 
same night he attempted to end his 
life by means of poison {see Suicide). 
On the 20th of the month he bade 
farewell to his Guard, and set ovit 
from Fontainebleau for Elba, which, 
through the good offices of the Tsar, 
the Powers bad awarded to him as a 
possession. He was to retain the title 
of emperor, and his wife, Marie Louise, 
was to have the duchy of Parma for 
herself and her son. On the way to 
the coast the defeated Emperor had 
to run a gauntlet of hostile powers. 
He was accompanied by General 
Roller, representing Austria; Colonel 
Neil Campbell, representing Great 
Britain ; General Schouvaloff, Russia ; 
and Count Truchsess - Waldburg, 
Prussia. These did their best to 
make matters easy for N., who asked 
Campibell to be allowed to make the 
sea voyage to Elba on a British man- 
of-war, saying to him : "I am. at 
your disposal ; I am your subject ; I 
depend on you." Campbell obtained 
permission from Castlereagih to make 
use of a British man-of-war. At 
Lyons he was met with cries of "A 
bas Napoleon." Meeting Augereau 
on 24 April, and being upbredded by 
him for having sacrificed the welfare 
of France to his insatiable ambition, 
N. brought the interview to a close. 
But Augereau's troops did not share 
their leader's contempt for their old 
master, and greeted him with en- 
thusiasm. At Avignon, where they 
arrived at six in the morning, the 
carriage was surrounded by a furious 
mob, who threw stones and even 
attacked the coachman with drawn 
swords ; but the horses were changed, 



157 



ELBA 

and started off at a gallop, -getting 
clear of the crowd. At Orgon, whidh 
they reached about noon of the same 
day, they passed an effigy of N. 
ihung on gallows, with the inscrip- 
tion : " Such will be, sooner or later, 
the fate of the tyrant." Here N. 
showed his first signs of fear — pale 
and terrified, he crouched behind 
Bertrand in a corner of his car- 
riage. The commissioners, with their 
attendants, placed themselves in front 
of the carriage, and Sclhouvaloff 
addressed the crowd, telling them 
tbat they ought to be ashamed to 
insult the fallen. When beyond 
Orgon N. put on a plain blue over- 
coat and a common round hat with 
a white cockade, and thus disguised 
as a courier rode on horseback in 
advance, accompanied by one of the 
outriders. On his arrival at Calade 
the Emperor burst into tears because 
of the abuse of the landlady at the 
small inn at which he put up : she 
had thought him a courier, and on 
mention of his name had used threat- 
ening language. After this N. chose 
the name of Lord Burghersh, who had 
originally been selected to> act as 
British commissioner, thinking that it 
would be safer for him to- adopt a 
British name. He was in constant 
fear of being poisoned unless his own 
cooks prepared the meal. At the least 
noise he started up in terror and 
changed colour. On the 26th he 
donned a dress made up of the 
various parts of the uniforms of the 
commissioners. Passing through 
Aix and other small towns cries 
of "A has le tyran " and "Vive 
Louiis XVni." were sent up, but 
without any violence being offered. 
Reaching Luc in the afternoon of the 
26th, the danger was passed. "The 
depths of cowardly collapse to which 
he sank made a very bad impression 
on all who were present," says Nor- 
wood Young in his Napoleon in Exile. 
"Would Caesar or Charlemag-ne, with 
whom he had compared himself, have 
exhibited such poltroonery? Any com- 
mon king, Louis XVL, for example, 
would have put him to shame." It 
would ,seem, however, that our 
authority has laid undue stress upon 
the condition of mind displayed by 



ELBA 

the Emperor on this occasion. The 
names of soores of great men and 
women can be adduced who lived in 
fear of poison or the assassin's 
dagger. It is a physiological fact 
that 'if the nervous system becomes 
shattered control is almost impossible, 
and such was probably the case with 
N. Some men can, of course, riise 
superior to shattered nerves, b-ut 
these are indeed few and far be- 
tween, and prolonged practice lis re- 
quired ere a couragecus front can 
be shown under such circumstances. 
In the initial stages of the complaint 
resistance is almost a physical im- 
possibility. 

Campbell reached Marseilles on the 
evening of the 25th, and there he found 
H.M. frigate Undaunted under Capt. 
Ussher. On reaching Frejus, to which 
port the Undaunted sailed, N. found 
also the French ship Dryade, but he 
cho'se toi embark on the British ship 
for very obvious reasons. He in- 
vited the four commlissioners and Capt. 
Ussher to dine with hiim at the inn. 
There he was once more the Emperor, 
and gave the commissioners a taste of 
Imperial arrogance. On the following 
morning (28th:) there was a rumour 
abroad that the soldiers of the Army 
of Italy were entering France, declar- 
ing that they would free the Emperor. 
N. had designed to meet these en- 
thusiastic adherents by begging to 
be sent through Italy to Piombino. 
Ussher told the Emperor that if the 
wind were to change he would have 
to put out to sea for the safety of his 
ship, leaving him on the coast. N. 
consented to embark that day, but 
asked that his departure be made in 
the evening. He passed through the 
people of the town, and, taking car- 
riage, set off at a great pace for the 
harbour of St. Raphael. His voyage 
on the Undaunted — his first on 
a British vessel of war — ^was csom- 
menced with a salute of twenty-one 
guns. The commissioners, of course, 
accompanied him with their suites, 
and Peyrusse, treasurer of the crown, 
Beauregarde, a physician, Deschamps 
and Baillon, grooms of the bedcham- 
ber, Gatti, an apothecary, Colin, con- 
troller of the household, and Rathery, 
secretary to the grand marshal, along 



158 



ELBA 

with twelve other officials and ten 
domestics. N. slept in the after cabin, 
and was usually on deck by seven. 
He breakfasted at ten and dined at 
six with the commissioners and the 
captain. Throug^hout the voyage he 
was cordial and in good spirits, and 
seemed in the best of health : in fact, 
he almost behaved like a man on holi- 
day ; and in effect he was so, for he 
was now enjoying" the first real leisure 
of many years. His conversation was 
so free as almost to be garrulous, small 
talk and g'ossip taking up much of 
his time. At table he confined him- 
self chiefly to Campbell and Ussher, 
acquainting them with the most inti- 
mate secrecies of his relations with 
England. He also revealed to them 
his exj>ectations of being able to 
return one day to France, saying 
that the Bourbons would make them- 
selves intolerable within six months. 
At first the voyage was roug'h, and 
shelter was taken off Calvi, on the 
coast of Corsica. Whilst there N. 
suggested to Roller a walk on the 
shore to stretch their legs, but the 
Austrian declined the invitation. N.'s 
position at this time was undoubtedly 
strange, for he was by no means a 
prisoner, being virtually sovereign of 
Elba and being escorted toi his own 
dominions. On 3 May they passed 
Capraia, and steered directly for 
Elba. N. seemed impatient to reach 
his new domains : these lying be- 
tween Corsica and Italy in the 
Tuscan archipelagO', with Capraia 
to the north and Pianosa toi the 
south. Strangely enough, whilst a 
lieutenant in an artillery regiment at 
Auxonne, N. had written a little 
story relating to Gorgona, the far- 
thest north of the group, in which 
(he relates a conversation between 
a shipwrecked Englishman and a 
Corsican hermit who dwelt on the 
island. Next to Pianosa is Monte 
Cristo, the picturesque scene of the 
treasure hunt in Dumas' novel of 
that name. Elba itself is the largest 
of the group, and is sixteen miles in 
its maximum length and ten miles in 
maximum breadth, with a circum- 
ference of about sixty miles. It is 
only six miles from Italian soil, being 
separated from it by the Canale di 



ELBA 

Piomhino. Its appearance from the 
sea is arresting and romantic, its 
peaks rising from the ocean in pic- 
turesque columns to a heig'ht of from 
2,000 to 3,000 feet. Some of these 
acclivities are bare of vegetation, 
whilst on others tamarisk, box and 
myrtle grow freely, and in the valleys 
vines are cultivated. The climate is 
equable, but here and there are, or 
were in N.'s time, malarial patches. 
It is populated, for the most part, 
by fislhermen and miners, the latter 
quarryingf the serpentine, g-ranite, 
marble, and other minerals to ibe 
found on the island. The Elbans 
differ from the Corsicans, being" mild 
and agreeable ; but the same inter- 
family feuds are occasionally met with, 
and on the whole the population is by 



MAP^ 


OF THE ISI 

eslOence and 


JiND OF 


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10 26« Feb. 


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Scalt efih/as 

B^ * S 

no means industrious. Portoferralio, 
the capital, is built on a promontory 
jutting" into the sea, but is sheltered 
by the surrounding hills except to the 
north. It was well fortified by Fort 
Stella and many other batteries, one 
row of which was known as the Lin- 
guella. The town, like many others 
built on the mountainous islands of the 
Mediterranean, rises from the harbour 
in ascending terraces. The principal 
street is the Piazza Cavour, at the rear 
of which is a square called in N.'s 
time the Place d'Armes, wlhere his 
soldiers drilled daily. One side is 
occupied by the cathedral and another 
by the town hall. The population in 
the time of N. was about 3,000. 

The Emperor arrived at Porto- 
ferraio on 3 May 1814. He had sent 
on a letter to the sub-prefect of Elba, 
announcing that he had chosen the 
island as his future home. A deputa- 
tion was sent on board the Undaunted 



159 



ELBA 

to meet him, consisting- of Dalesme, 
the commander of the Elba National 
Guard, and Pons de I'H^rault (q.v.), 
administrator of the mines at Rio. 
The latter, who was a native of Cette, 
born in 1772, had been a merchant 
sailor, afterwards entering the French 
Navy. In 1793 he became a captain 
of artillery, and had met N. at Toulon. 
He came to Elba in 1809. The Em- 
peror was wearing the grand uniform 
of a chasseur of the Imperial Guard, 
with the star of the Legion of Honour ; 
his expression was benevolent and he 
had a dignified smile on his face. He 
held in his hand a small round sailor's 
hat, w'hich, says Pons, rather aston- 
ished those who met him. He was 
greeted by General Dalesme in falter- 
ing accents, and the Emperor replied 
precisely that he intended to consecrate 
himself henceforth to the welfare of 
the Elbans, who were highly delighted 
that the herO' had come to dwell 
amongst them. At night every house 
was illuminated with candles, and the 
natives of the place thoug^ht their for- 
tunes were made, as the name of Napo^- 
leon would bring so many distinguished 
persons to the ^island as would enrich 
them all. The Emperor decided to take 
up his residence at the Hotel de ViUe. 
In preparation for the celebration of his 
taking formal possession of the island 
on the following day, couriers were 
sent in haste to all the neighbouring 
distr^icts to collect as many people as 
possible. A high-sounding manifesto 
was sent forth by the commandant of 
the Island, embracing N.'s words to 
him to the effect that he had reserved 
for himself the sovereignty and the 
property of the island of Elba. The 
vicar-general Arrighi, who was a 
cousin of N., also issued a manifesto. 
On 4 May N. arose at daylight. The 
Undaunted moved into the harbour and 
anchored there amidst festive sounds 
of music and cheering. At eight 
o'clock he embarked on one of the 
boats of the Undaunted with Ussher, 
Campbell, Bertrand and others, re- 
marking that he was unarmed and 
asking- if the Elbans were addicted to 
assassination. He was greatly alarmed 
by hearing a peasant shouting "Lx>ng 
live the King of England," an incident 
caused by Ussher, who had attempted 



ELBA 

to ride one of the island ponies, and, 
being thrown, had given a guinea to 
the boy who had brought the animal : 
the boy at once concluded that Ussher 
was the King of England, hence the 
salute. The party returned on board 
for breakfast, and N. selected a 
national flag for Elba, choosing a 
pattern which had been used by Cosimo 
de Medici, which had a white ground 
and red diagonal stripe, on which the 
Emperor superimposed three golden 
bees, remarking that they would sym- 
bolize peace, harmony, and industry. 
Elba still retains these arms. Enter- 
ing the barge of the Undaunted with 
the commissioners and others, to the 
roar of a royal salute of a hundred 
and one guns and the ring'ing of the 
church bells, N. rowed to the shore and 
landed. The quays and ramparts of 
Portoferraio were crowded with masses 
of people, and the whole place was en 
fete, the inhabitants being dressed in 
their best, and brilliancy being lent to 
the scene by numbers of gaily coloured 
shawls and fabrics which were hung 
from the windows. N. was received 
by the civil and military authorities, 
and the keys of the town were pre- 
sented to him by Traditi, the mayor, 
on a silver plate. He was then con- 
ducted by his cousin, the vicar-general, 
under a red canopy. Notwithstanding 
that he was well guarded, a dense 
crowd pressed around him, but he 
had not far to go to the cathedral, 
the portals of which he soon gained. 
There he heard Mass, after which he 
proceeded to the town hall. At that 
place a couch had been placed upon 
a raised platform, an attempt being 
made by decorating it with scarlet 
cloth and gilt paper to render it as 
much like a throne as circumstances 
permitted. Here were assembled the 
aristocracy of the island, who were 
presented tO' their new ruler, who 
made them a little si>eech. They were 
amazed by the knowledge he had of 
their insular abode, and he acquainted 
them with many facts concerning it 
that they themselves were unaware of. 
After this reception N. took horse and 
proceeded to inspect the fortifications. 
He was so afflicted at night by the 
constant indift'erent serenading that at 
last he stated that he disliked music. 



160 



ELBA 

He rose early, about 4 a.m., an hour 
which permitted him to escape from 
tihe crowds which surrounded him 
whenever he took the air. He was 
busy selecting a country house. He 
took a dislike to the H6tel de Ville, 
and chose the barracks of St. Francis 
instead. He first desired that Ber- 
trand should live with him, but later, 
when that marshal stated that he would 
prefer to live within his own domestic 
circle, he gave way at once. At last 
he selected a house above the town 
close to Fort Stella. The central part 
of this residence was of one storey 
only, but it was flanked by two wings, 
each of which possessed two storeys. 
The central part consisted of a large 
single apartment, and this was divided 
by a partition, one half of the saloon 
being utilized as the Emperor's dining- 
room, and the other as that of his 
suite, but the partition was movable, 
so that if necessary the entire room 
could be used. He took a great deal 
of interest in these alterations, and 
even assisted in mixing the paint with 
which the partition was to be stained. 
His bedroom was on the ground floor, 
and had two french windows and a 
bathroom next door. Close by were 
two smaller rooms, a library and a 
study. The kitchen was rather un- 
handily placed, as all dishes had to 
be carried through the garden to the 
dining-room. Furniture for this resi- 
dence was brought from the palace of 
Elise at Piombino, on the mainland. 
But a ship which had on board furni- 
ture belonging to Prince Borghese, 
Pauline's husband, was driven into 
Portoferraio by stress of weather, 
and this was taken over by N. with- 
out further inquiry. Most of the 
Imperial apartments were simple, not 
to say shabby, in appointments : the 
paper on the walls was worn out, and 
the carpets patched in several places. 
But N. had a good library from Fon- 
tainebleau. He was extremely par- 
ticular about the appearance of his 
books, insisting that they should be 
suitably bound, with an " N " stamped 
on the back. On no account would 
he have books which were in bad 
condition. The house had been sur- 
rounded by windmills, and these he 
removed. The guardhouse he changed 



ELBA 

into a theatre for amateur perform- 
ances. In front of the house he built 
two rows of rooms for his orderlies 
and guards, and he made a carriage 
road between the entrance to the forts 
and the door. Behind the house he 
made a small garden, at the most 
remote end of which was a paved 
walk about 150 feet in length, and a 
parapet overlooking the sea. From 
this point of vantage he would eagerly 
scan the horizon for the ships which 
were to bring those for whom he 
watched. This residence he entered on 
21 May. On the i6th he had given 
his first social reception at the H6tel 
de Ville. The elite of the place seem 
to have been very simple in their 
habits, and ceremony was to a great 
extent dispensed with; but at his 
private residence the etiquette of the 
Imperial court was carefully preserved, 
and all audiences had to be arranged 
with Bertrand, who now ranked as 
chief of the civil administration with 
a salary of 80,000 francs. He and his 
family kept very much to themselves, 
and seem to have been weighed down 
by the thought of the sacrifice they 
were making in accompanying their 
late master to such a place as Elba. 
Peyrusse acted as paymaster and re- 
ceiver-general, and Drouot, the most 
faithful of all, as governor of the 
island and director of military affairs. 
Fourreau de Beauregard was N.'s 
physician-in-chief, and loved to bring 
his master the scandal and gossip of 
the neighbourhood. The other mem- 
bers of the suite were Deschamps and 
Baillon, who were called prefects of 
the palace ; four chamberlains, Lapi, 
Vantini, Traditi, and Gualandi, all 
Elbans, with the meagre salary of 
£48 apiece. There were five orderly 
officers, and Arrighi was nominated 
private chaplain. There were also a 
maitre d'hdtel, a chef, a butler and a 
steward, and other household func- 
tionaries, as well as two valets from 
Fontainebleau, who soon tired of 
Elba, however, and were replaced 
by Marchand and Jilli. There were 
grooms, gardeners and other super- 
numeraries. N. insisted upon the 
strictest etiquette being maintained, 
and set the standard of this at that 
of the Tuileries. When he drove out 



161 



ELBA 

it was invariably in state, with pos- 
tilions, outriders, staff, and Polish 
lancers complete. 

N. had not been long on the island 
when he made a journey to the mines 
at Rio for the purpose of inspection, 
riding- across the mountains on Elban 
ponies and passing- the romantic fort- 
ress of Volterraio. They were met 
above Rio Montagne by Pons and 
Gualandi, the mayor. Preceded by 
gTjides with torches, they entered the 
upper mine, which they duly inspected. 
The examination concluded, they en- 
tered the little town of Rio Marina, 
where they were enthusiastically 
greeted, N. took umbrage at the 
fact that some lilies, the crest of the 
Bourbons, were growling near the 
house of Pons, to whom he was 
afterwards extremely rude. Return- 
ing home in the evening on horse- 
back, as they had come, they com- 
pleted their journey by water to 
Portoferraio. N. continued to visit 
outlying parts of the island through- 
out the month of May, and, indeed, 
thoroughly explored lits western por- 
tion, being everywhere received With 
much enthusiasm. About this time he 
gave orders to Lieut. Larabit, a young 
officer of engineers, to fortify the 
island, as he appeared to be in dread 
that Moorish corsairs might once more 
make it a rendezvous. In this task he 
took a great deal of interest, but Lara- 
bit came into collision with Gottmann, 
N.'s commander at Pianosa, who in- 
sisted that he should proceed with the 
fortifications before he built barracks. 
He was afterwards replaced by Monier, 
an adjutant of engineers. There was 
a great deal of grumbling amongst 
both soldiers and officers regarding the 
loneliness of the insular situation in 
which they found themselves. In fact, 
the only person who does not seem to 
have grumbled was N., who was full 
of brilliant sdhemes for the exploita- 
tion of the island, and desired to found 
a model colony. He intended to divide 
it into farms, upon which he would 
settle farmers, who would be provided 
with all the necessaries of agricultural 
existence. Fruit culture and horse 
breeding were the two outstanding 
industries he proposed to favour. He 
found a Genoese capitalist willing to 



ELBA 

assist him with these projects, but this 
man failing him, nothing came of the 
various schemes for colonizing Elba 
and Pianosa, the adjacent island. On 
25 May the brig Inconstant^ which N. 
was to retain as his own private ves- 
sel, arrived. Shortly afterwards the 
Guard were landed at Elba, nearly 
700 in number. Cries of "Vive 
I'Empereur " resounded on all sides. 
They were headed by General Cam- 
bronne (q-v.), who is frequently 
credited with uttering the high-sound- 
ing challenge at Waterloo : " La garde 
meurt et ne se rend pas." Ussher 
and the Undaunted now quitted the 
island, the former with a snuffbox set 
in diamonds in his pocket. N. had 
now quite a small fleet of his own : 
the Inconstant, a brig of about 300 
tons, carrying eighteen guns ; the 
Etoile, of eiighty-three tons, which 
carried six 4-pounders ; the advice- 
boat Caroline, twenty-six tons, armed 
with one 4-pounder; two feluccas, the 
Mouche and the Aheille; and three 
barges, the Ussher, the Hochard for 
his own exclusive use, and a third 
boat of six oars for the use of his 
suite. Besides the Guard, he had a 
squadron of Polish lancers ; but it 
was not easy to make use of mounted 
men in Elba, and they were turned 
into garrison artillery, excepting for 
twenty-two of them, who furnished a 
mounted escort for the Emperor when 
driving. He had also two battalions 
of 400 men each, called the Gorsican 
and the Elban, so that in all he had 
a force of nearly 1,200 men. 

On 29 May N. heard of the death 
of Josephine at Malmaison : he was 
greatly distressed at the news. She 
had desired to join him at Elba, but 
he felt it impossible to accept her 
proposal in view of his relations with 
the royal house of Austria. On the 
31st of the month his sister Pauline- 
arrived : her health was at this time 
by no means good. N. had hired for 
her a house adjacent to his own at 
the moderate rental of £8 a month, 
but she stayed in the Mulinl Palace 
until such time as it was put into 
proper order for her. About the end 
of May and the beginning of June 
several festivals of a picturesque 
character were celebrated on the 



162 



ELBA 

island. On 29 May, the f^te of San 
Cristino, the patron saint of Porto- 
ferraio, the festival of reception was 
held in honour of N. In the morn- 
ing- he heard higih Mass, and in the 
evening attended a ball given him by 
the municipality of Portoferraio. He 
was also present on 4 June at the 
f^te given on the British frigate 
Cura^oa by Capt. Tower in celebra- 
tion of the birthday of George III. 
The reception was followed by a ball 
and supper. The French garrison 
proper, apart from the troops under 
the control of N., quitted Elba shortly 
after this event. 

In celebration of his birthday, 15 
Aug"., the Emperor dispatched Vin- 
cent, the chief groom, to Leghorn to 
obtain materials for making fireworks. 
His mother arrived at the island on 
a visit, and she was much offended 
that her son was not at the harbour 
to receive her. She passed through 
streets lined with soldiers, proceeding 
to the house which had oriiginally been 
hired for Pauline. She lived very 
quietly while at Elba, going* out very 
little, seeling" few guests, and dining 
with her son cm Sundays. Her Corsi- 
can preferences were now very marked, 
and she did all she could to help her 
compatriots to administrative posts on 
the island, N. refused to be out of 
pocket for any expenses incurred by 
his mother and sister which had not 
been passed personally by him. 

Great efforts were made by the 
inhabitants of Portoferraio to cele- 
brate N.'s birthday, 15 Aug"., in true 
Imperial style. Most of the Elban 
families were extremely needy and 
felt the pressure of such an occasion. 
A large wooden ballroom was con- 
structed in the square, and prepara- 
tions were made for a race meeting. 
As on the f6te of San Cristino, N. 
proceeded in state to Mass. At the 
race meeting there was a great show 
of handsome costumes, which had 
been obtained by resource to the 
moneylender. For this event horses 
ha.d been imported from the Continent 
at very considerable expense, but the 
affair was a great success. At night, 
however, a high wind spoilt the fire- 
work exhibition. The words "A 
I'Empereur" flamed from a triumphal 



ELBA 

arch in the Place d'Armes, but the 
wind blew out several of the letters, 
leaving the words "Le P^re " (the 
father), which created something of a 
sensation. 

Pauline was making arrang^ements 
to buy a country house, and on N.'s 
advice she purchased an estate situated 
upon the slope of San Martino, about 
three miles from Portoferraio, fov 
56,000 francs. The house connected 
with the estate consisted, and stillJ 
consists, of a g"round floor, with &. 
loft which had been changed into ao 
upper storey. The ground floor con- 
tained a salon, behind which was a 
larger room called the Egyptian room, 
rooms on the left for Drouot and Bert- 
rand, and a study for N. ; and on the 
riig-ht a bedroom for the Emperor, 
rooms for the valets, and an ante- 
chamber. The rooms which served for 
Bertrand and Drouot were also fur- 
nished so that they would be suitable 
for Mme. M6re and Pauline. From 
San Martino to Portoferraio was a 
favourlite drive of the Emperor's, and 
he repaired the road between the two 
places. But the Emperor soon found 
that the place in summer was stifling,, 
and he transferred his country quarters 
to the small hermitage of La Madonna 
del Monte, a little above Marciana 
Alta, at a height of some 2,500 feet 
above the sea. He had not long 
been settled here when a vessel entered 
the bay of Portoferraio, carryings the 
Countess Walewska (q.v.) and her 
child, N.'s son : the countess's brother 
and sister also accompanied her. The 
Emperor rode down the slope to meet 
them. During' her visit to the island 
the countess kept indoors, and when 
she departed it was as she had come, 
by night. She left in the teeth of a 
tremendous gale, carrying wlith her 
orders from N. tO' Murat to restore 
to her son the estates in Naples which 
the Emperor had intended for him — 
a command which was complied with. 
N. returned to Porto Longone, and 
busied himself with plans for a new- 
harbour at Rio. To begin with N. 
was enormously active, visiting every 
part of the island and working " to 
fatigue himself." But later he re- 
lapsed by degrees into a condition of 
inactivity, and often retired to his 



163 



ELCHINGEN 

chamber in the afternoon to repose. 
Elba grew dreadfully dull, and despite 
efforts to amuse him N. grew bored. 
The church of the Carmelites was con- 
verted into a theatre, the first perform- 
ance in which, was given in Jan. 1815. 
Balls and hah masques followed. The 
evenings were occupied by card-play- 
ing and music. 

Early in 181 5 it was evident that 
N. was meditating a descent upon 
Europe. The British brig Partridge, 
under Capt. Adye, which was on the 
Elba station, was ordered to keep a 
sharp look-out. But Campbell, the 
British agent, left on the Partridge 
on 16 Feb., and N.'s preparations 
^^vere pushed on. The Partridge re- 
turned on the 23rd, suspecting nothing, 
and the captain of the British ship left 
next day. N., assembling the digni- 
taries of the island, his guard and 
troops, left on the evening of the 
26th on the Inconstant with 1,150 
men. For the landing in France, see 
Waterloo. 

Elching^en, Battle of (Austerlitx 
Campaign). -On 14 Oct. 1805 Marshal 
Ney, With 16,000 men, attacked 15,000 
Austrians under Laudon, who held the 
bridge, vlillage and convent of Elchin- 
gen. The bridge had been practically 
destroyed, but under severe fire some 
of the French engineers succeeded in 
making it possible for their comrades 
to cross. The Austrians were driven 
out of the village and convent, and 
Laudon had to fall back on the heights 
of the Michelsberg. 

Emancipation, Edict of.— 
issued at Memel, 1807, to abolish serf- 
dom throughout Prussia; promul- 
gated and carried out by Stein (q.v.), 
ilt came into force three years later. 
Restrictions in connexion with land- 
■©■wners were modified, and lin some 
cases abolished. By its provisions the 
peasantry were not permitted by law 
to sell their land to the burgher class. 
The Edict swept away many ancient 
■abuses, and the wealth of the Prus- 
'sian territory began to develop. More- 
over, the classes mingled with more 
freedom and participated in the 
-different (industries and professions 
iiitherto restricted to certain castes 
alone. 

€migi-6s. — See Consulate, The. 



EMPIRE 

Empire under Napoleon.— The 

following article is offered as a resume 
of the condition and history of France 
under the Empire. 

Condition of France 

By the Senatus Consultum of 
18 May 1804 it was enacted that the 
Imperial succession should be vested 
in the legitimate issue of N., descend- 
ing in the male line by order of primo- 
geniture. On 7 March 1796 N. 
espoused Josephine de Beauharnais 
(q.v.), and on 2 Dec 1804 the cere- 
mony of coronation was celebrated in 
Notre Dame with much pomp — the 
Emperor crowning himself, afterwards 
placing the crown on the Empress's 
head. Papal unction had been granted 
the pair. The constitution of the 
Empire was briefly as follows : 

Constitution' of the Empire 

The Emperor was still the head and 
front of a merely nominal "republic." 
N. was the first representative of the 
nation. "To put the nation itself 
before the Emperor would be at once 
chimerical and criminal," he wrote to 
the Moniteur, "since the Emperor was 
the elected of the nation and the 
chosen of God." Next to the Imperial 
authority came the Senate, which in 
reality was less potent than under the 
Consulate, as the President was 
nominated by the Emperor himself, 
and the body was "packed " by digni- 
taries, each of whom owed his status 
more or less to the favour of the Em- 
peror. It appointed commissions for 
the maintenance of individual liberty 
and the liberty of the press. All bills 
passed by the Legislative Body were 
referred to the Senate, the members 
of which were elected for life, and 
might therefore have been expected to 
have acted on their own initiative. In 
the face of N.'s arbitrary arrests and 
imprisonments, the first of these com- 
missions was almost powerless to act, 
and the "General Board for the Con- 
trol of Printing and Publishing " ren- 
dered the labours of the second quite 
nugatory. These are striking instances 
of the manner in which N. seemed to 
confer powers upon legislative bodies 
without in reality doing so. The Tri- 
bunate dealt with legislation, home 



164 



EMPIRE 

affairs and finance, three separa.te 
sections taking up these several depart- 
ments and deliberating- from time to 
time along- with the Council of State. 
This meant that the Tribunate exer- 
cised no real control of its own accord, 
but was merely an appendage of the 
Council of State. As for the Legis- 
lative Body, it was filled with officials, 
and its duties were so overlapped by 
those of the Tribunate as to render its 
labours supererogatory. As the term 
of office of its various members ex- 
pired, they were drafted into the Legis- 
lative Body, and as a chamber the Tri- 
bunate gradually ceased to exist. In 
effect there remained only the Senate 
and the Legislative Body, and N. sent 
his decrees straight to the former 
for ratification. Thus the legislative 
machine was simplified out of exist- 
ence. Officials were drawn more from 
the aristocratic class and the upper 
bourgeoisie, and were poor substitutes 
for those of the Consulate. Meanwhile 
a new corps of dignitaries was being 
rapidly founded, and titles were dis- 
tributed with a free hand. Besides 
this, N. created his brother Joseph 
King of Naples and Sicily, his sister 
Pauline Princess of Guastalla, whilst 
Murat was made Duke of Cleves, and 
Berthier Prince of Neuchatel. Many 
other marshals and generals were en- 
dowed w'ith foreign titles. But the 
popularity of N. slowly waned under 
the Empire, as the rigid etiquette of 
his court divorced him from the people. 
Moreover, the aristocracy of the 
ancien regime, whom he had re- 
ennobled, regarded him with contempt, 
and the aristocracy of the nouveaux 
riches had been too speedily enriched 
to permit of their permanent fidelity. 

Serious Financial Crisis 

The reign of N. had commenced 
with a serious financial crisis. A 
company known as the Ndgociant 
Reunis was formed for the purpose of 
general trading and speculation, and 
among its activities were included 
schemes for supplying the Treasury 
With money and the army With pro- 
visions. The Treasury found itself 
unable to pay for the provisions thus 
supplied, but the Bank of France 
stepped in and arranged to issue notes 



EMPIRE 

as advances to the company. These 
decreased in value, and naturally all 
bill discounting was practically at an 
end. Trade was gravely affected. The 
interests of the Treasury, the bank^ 
and the company overlapped, but the 
Austrian indemnity accruing from 
Marengo was paid into the bank and 
the situation was saved. 

Public Works tinder the Empire 

Public works were proceeded with 
apace, and from 1804 to 181 3 
over a milliard of francs was 
spent in connexion with national im- 
provements. A complete renovation 
of high roads was undertaken. In 
1805 the Mont Cehis road brought 
Paris into touch, with the north of 
Italy, as did the Simplon road com- 
pleted in 1807. A great many bridges 
and viaducts were also constructed, 
and canals were rapidly cut in all parts 
of the country. Prisoners of war,, 
mostly Spaniards, were pressed into 
the necessary labour required for these 
vast schemes. The Tuileries and other 
palaces of the ancien regime were 
magnificently restored and enlarged, 
and the splendid pile of the Louvre 
formed the centre of an architectural 
scheme which was to render Paris a 
fitting metropolis for the whole of 
Europe. The archaeological and 
artistic treasures of all the subject and 
conquered nations poured into its 
walls, and the art and learning of 
Europe found its temporary nucleus 5n 
the Parisian mus^e. Paris expanded 
rapidly under the Empire, both in area 
and population (see Paris, N.'s Em- 
bellishment of). N's earnest desire 
was to behold the Empire of which he 
was the head a model of the arts of 
peace as well as of efficiency in the 
arts of war. 

The Food Supply 

N. exhibited the greatest interest in 
the question of the public food 
supply, and took every precaution to 
see to its regulation both in Paris 
and the provinces, evidently fearing 
the consequences of any dislocation 
or cessation of the sources of public 
nourishment. He surrounded it with 
precautionary legislation of every 
description, so much so, in fact, that 



165 



EMPIRE 

those branches of trade which de- 
pended upon it practically became close 
corporations. N. declared his inten- 
tion of restoring- those useful institu- 
tions which the Revolution had 
destroyed, and in this manner altered 
the existing- system of ooiinage, weights 
and measures. 

N/s Protectionist Policy 

Between 1802 and 1804 N, every 
year passed a law regarding^ the 
customs. These were strongly pro- 
tectionist in nature, and that of 
1803 nearly put a period to the 
negotiations for the Peace of Amiens. 
But, although N. created a protec- 
tionist France, the central pivot of Ms 
policy was the Continental System. By 
this scheme he attempted to group 
round France all the European powers 
to the detriment of Great Briitain, and 
thus compensate himself in some 
manner for the lack of a navy which 
could menace the shores of his 
greatest enemy. Boycotting British 
goods, he attempted to import cotton 
and foodstuffs overland by way of the 
Levant, but he was later forced to 
assent to the importation of British 
goods — at a very heavy duty, how- 
ever. Agriculture was improved by 
the introduction of English and 
Flem'ish methods of farming-, and 
manufactures were fostered by the 
protective system, but were hampered 
by being cut off from the inventive 
faculty of the English people. The 
comfort and average wealth of the 
people were considerably heightened in 
comparison with the conditions prior 
to the Revolution, and the system of 
conscription served to raise the wag-es 
of agricultural labourers, and, indeed, 
of all classes of artisans. But the 
burden of poverty which had before 
been undertaken by the church now 
fell heavily upon the municipalities, a® 
did that of public instruction. In 1808 
the Imperial University was formed. 
The Press, as under the Consulate, was 
severely censored {see Journalism). 

Internal History 

Absent from Sept. 1806 until July 
1807 on the conduct of the campaigns 
in Prussia and Poland, N. governed 
France during that period from the 



EMPIRE 

seat of war. A few unimportant 
Royalist emeutes disturbed the 
country during- h-is absence, but these 
were speedily put an end to by the 
g^endarmerie. On his return from the 
theatre of hostilities, N. suppressed 
the Tribunate and effected several 
changes in his government, making 
Talleyrand Vice-grand Elector and 
Berthier Vice-constable. In Dec. 1807 
the Emperor made a journey into 
Italy, and on his return proceeded 
with the work of consolidating the 
nobility and founding the University. 
Proceeding to Bayonne to intervene 
in Spanish affairs {see Spain) from 
April to Aug^. 1808, his absence was 
marked by a Republican conspiracy 
headed by one Eve Demaillot, who 
gathered round Mm a number of mal- 
content officers and others, and pro- 
claimed the dethronement of the Em- 
peror, taking every precaution, how- 
ever, to preserve anonymity. The plot 
was discovered by Dubois (8 June 
1808), who arrested the conspirators 
and advised N. concerning the affair. 
But the conspirators were not brought 
to trial, and the matter was hushed up. 

Effect of Spanish Policy 

The tidings of the capitulation of 
Baylen {q.v.) in Spain and the Conven- 
tion of Cintra fell as bombshells upon 
the French people, but at the Congress 
of Erfurt (22 Sept.) N. regained much 
of his popularity, and on his return to 
Paris opened the session of the Legis- 
lative Body. On 29 Oct. he quitted 
Paris for Spain. At his departure 
great national uneasiness was felt, for 
did anything" untoward happen to him 
the entire organization of the country 
would be thrown out of balance. 
Talleyrand and Fouch^, partly from 
self-interest, partly because they 
feared a national catastrophe, agreed 
that in the event of N.'s death 
Murat should be offered the crown. 
N., hearing of their meeting's and pro- 
posals, returned from Spain, removed 
Talleyrand from his position of Grand 
Chamberlain, but overlooked Fouche's 
indiscretion. Returning* to Spain in 
four months* time, N. appointed Cam- 
bac^rfes to the position of deputy dur- 
ing his absence. In July 1809 the 
British landed at Walcheren in Bel- 



166 



EMPIRE 

g^ium, and Fouche, who was now 
Minister of the Interior, ordered a levy 
of the National Guard in the North- 
Eastern departments, but N. dis- 
banded the troops. In Oct. 1809 N. 
returned to Fontainebleau, and by this 
time had taken his decision to divorce 
Josephine {see Josephine). This was 
carried out on 16 Dec. 1809. His 
marriag-e with Marie Louise of Austria 
(q.v.) took place on 12 March 1810. 
On 2 June Fouche was dismissed from 
his portfolio, with the title of Governor 
of Rome ; but, when his conspiracies 
with Great Britain came to lig-ht by 
means of Eng-lish agents, as the result 
of an inquiry, he fled to Italy, subse- 
quently returning to France, when he 
was compelled to retire to Aix {see 
FoucH^). 

N.'s Altered Habits 

N., puffed up because of his 
alliance to a royai princess, took 
every opportunity to surround himself 
with the scions of the old regime, 
without sufficiently examining their 
credentials for the positions in which 
he placed them. The tremendous 
growth of the Empire now forced N. 
to a revision of its administration. It 
may be said that from 1804 to 1808 
N. set himself the task of strengthen- 
ing the Empire. After 1809 he began 
to reorganize his methods of govern- 
ment. But from 1809 to 181 2 a change 
had come over the personal habits of 
the Emperor. Success had aroused 
lin him a pride which can be only 
characterized as overweening. He 
became addicted to the pleasures of 
the table, and he spent much time in 
slumber during each day. His whole 
outlook altered. The birth of the King 
of Rome seemed to assure his blood 
in the royal succession. He appeared 
to himself as omnipotent. The situa- 
tion was one bristling with danger. 
War and the cramping policy conse- 
quent upon the continuation of the in- 
sane Continental System, which instead 
of isolating Britain in reality isolated 
France from America and the East, 
had a ruinous effect upon commercial 
activity. No pK>licy of subsidy or 
patchy legislation could meet the 
danger of a scanty food supply. 
Wheat in 181 t was ten francs a bushel. 



EMPIRE 

In 1812 it was 140 francs per sack of 
8 bushels. A maximum price of 95 
francs per sack was fixed. By the 
time of the Russian campaign the 
financial situation had become acute. 
Malet {q.v.) hatched a conspiracy to 
dethrone the Emperor during his 
absence (Oct. 1812), informing the 
National Guard that N. had died 
before Moscow, and setting himself at 
their head, marched to the prison of 
La Force with the intention of_free- 
ing several malcontent generals, when 
his plot was unmasked. He was shot 
29 Oct. N. returned to Paris, having 
deserted the Grand Armee, on 18 Dec. 
After the plot of Malet it was obvious 
to him that on his own death the whole 
superstructure which he had reared 
would fall. He took every opportunity 
of heightening the popularity of his 
Empress and son, but to little pur- 
pose. The absence of N. from 
14 April to 9 Nov. 181 3 induced a pro- 
found feeling of anxiety in the 
country. Prior to this a change had 
been effected in the ministry conse- 
quent upon or contemporary with an 
imposing joint session of all the legis- 
lative bodies of France. Two com- 
missions of five members each were 
elected to examine documents fur- 
nished by the Government. The 
Senate approved the reports of the 
Commission. The Legislative Body, 
however, was not so tame. It re- 
quested the Emperor in courteous 
terms to continue the war only on 
condition that it was necessary to the 
integrity of French territory and the 
independence of the French people. 
The country was demanding through 
her deputies the blessings of peace 
after years of war. N. chafed at the 
recommendations of the Legislative 
Body, and suppressed their report. 
"With the enemy at your very doors," 
he stormed at the abashed representa- 
tives, "you ask for institutions." 
Returning to the seat of war, N. care- 
fully outlined the Governmental work 
to be undertaken during his absence. 
The conscription was hurried on, and 
the National Guard mobilized. The 
regency was vested in the Empress, 
with the co-operation of Cambacer^s 
and N.'s brother Joseph, On 25 Jan. 
1814 N. left Paris; and on this date 



,67 



ENGEN 

hiis actual reign as Emperor of France 
may be said to have ceased. 

Engen, Battle of.— Towards the 
end of April 1800 the French and Aus- 
trian armies found themselves facing- 
each other near Engen. In the ex- 
pectation of the arrival of the main 
body under Saint-Cyr, the French 
advance-gnard (25,000 men) under 
Moreau attacked the much superior 
Austrian army under Kray on 2 May. 
In spite of Saint-Cyr's non-arrival, 
Moreau succeeded in inflicting- a defeat 
on the enemy after a very hard fig"ht. 
On the following- day Saint-Cyr came 
in, and the Austrians were forced to 
withdraw, 'having- lost 3,000 killed, 
5,000 prisoners, and a large supply of 
munitions. 

Enghien, Louis Antoine Henri 
de Bourbon Conde, Due d' (1772- 
1804), —This French nobleman, re- 
membered chiefly on account of the 
fate with which he met at the hands 
of N., was a native of Chantilly ; and 
after the Revolution he took arms in 
what was called the armee de Condi, 
subsequently distinguishing himself 
greatly by his prowess. The peace of 
Amiens having been sealed, he 
travelled for a while in England ; while 
a little later, on being married to the 
Princess Charlotte de Rohan, he 
settled at Ettenheim, in Baden, not 
far from the Rhine, and it was there, 
in 1803, that he incurred the all-will 
of N. 

The fact is that, shortly before this, 
a Royalist plot had been hatched in 
France, those chiefly involved in it 
being the Comte d'Artois, Moreau, 
Pichegru and Georges Cadoudal, while 
Dnmouriez was suspected of being one 
of the band ; and the plotters, it seems, 
were minded to go the length of 
assassinating the First Consul, while 
it lis incontestable that they were 
abetted by English politicians. Largely 
through the cleverness and cunning of 
the spy, M^h^e, the affair was un- 
folded to N., who thereupoiu grew sus- 
picious of d'Enghien, the more so 
because the latter was supposed to be 
intimate with Dumouriez ; and accord- 
ingly it was deemed necessary to take 
strong measures, the result b^ing that 
on 15 March the unfortunate scion of 
the house of Conde was seized while 



ENGINEERING 

still on foreign soil and carried (hastily 
to Vincennes, near Paris. Two days 
later N. w^as assured that his sus- 
picions were unfounded, and Josephine 
and his brother Joseph both urged him 
to show mercy. But their entreaties 
proved vain, for d'Enghien was shot 
after being tried by court-martial. 

" It was worse than a crime : it was 
a blunder," said Fouche cleverly of the 
affair ; and certainly it alienated from 
N. many Royalists who were at length 
rallying to his side, notably Chateau- 
briand. Historians have with good 
reason dealt harshly with the First 
Consul for his severity, though the 
trial by court-martial was in its way 
leglitimate ; for, only a little before, 
the Senate had decreed that people 
suspected of aiming at the First 
Consul's life should not be tried by 
jury. There exists a story, too, that 
Bonaparte eventually decided only to 
frighten the so-called culprit, conse- 
quently allowing the court-martial to 
go forward, but sending R6al at the 
last moment with a reprieve ; and 
we are told that on this messenger 
arriving at Vincennes and hearing of 
the execution, he exclaimed at once : 
"Another thing gone wrong: the 
First Consul will be furious." How- 
ever, it is said that during his voyage 
to St. Helena N. himself expressly 
denied this story, while subsequently 
he wrote concerning the matter: "I 
caused the Due d'Enghien to be 
arrested and judged because it was 
necessary for the safety, the interest, 
and the honour of the French people, 
when the Comte d'Artois, by his 
own confession, was supporting sixty 
assassins in Paris. In similar cir- 
cumstances I should act in the same 
way again." 

Engineering. — About the middle 
of the eighteenth century there began 
to arise a class of men who con- 
cerned themselves with works exclu- 
sively military neither in purpose nor 
in character. These men came to be 
known as civil engineers by way of 
distinction from the military branch, 
and to. them N. held out the greatest 
possible encouragement. Himself pos- 
sessed of the highest qualifications as 
a military engineer, he was quick to 
note the high value of the civilian 



i68 



ENGINEERING 

workers in the same sphere. He re- 
cognized, for example, that good road- 
making goes far to make ruling easy, 
and that such an empire as the Roman 
would never have been able to impose 
its rule over such an limmense area 
save for the excellence of the highways 
laid by its legionaries. 

N. determined that all the new 
streets in Paris should be forty feet 
wide, with foot-pavements. As Bour- 
rienne says : "At Turin a magnificent 
bridge was constructed over the Po, 
in place of the old one which had 
fallen to ruin. How many things 
undertaken and executed under a 
reign so short and so eventful ! The 
communications were difficult between 
Metz and Mayence. A magnificent 
road was formed, as if it were by 
magic, and carried in a direct line 
through impassable marshes and 
trackless forests ; mountains opposed 
themselves, they were cut through; 
ravines presented obstacles, they were 
filled up ; and very soon one of the 
finest roads in Europe was opened 
to commerce. He would not allow 
nature, any more than man, to resist 
him. In his great works of bridges 
and roads Bonaparte had always in 
view to remove the obstacles and 
barriers which nature had placed to 
the limits of ancient France, and the 
better to unite the provinces which 
he added successively to the Empire. 
Thus a road, level as the walk 
of a garden, replaced in Savoy the 
precipitous passes in the wood of 
Bramant, and thus the passage of 
Mont Cenis, on the summit of which 
he erected a barrack, and intended 
to have built a town, became a 
pleasant promenade at almost all 
seasons of the year. The Simplon 
was obliged to bow its head before 
the mattocks and the mines of the 
engineers of France ; and Bonaparte 
might say, ' There are now no 
Alps,' with greater reason than 
Louis XIV. saiid, ' There are now 
no Pyrenees.' " 

Canals were constructed to connect 
the chief river systems of France. 
Paris, in particular, benefited from 
the construction of the Scheldt and 
Oise canal, which brought the re- 
sources of Belgium within easy reach 



ENGINEERING 

of the heart of France. Harbours 
were deepened and extended. The 
roads leading to the Rhine and along 
its left bank are monuments to N.'s 
genius and foresight, which were 
justified during the campaign of 
Ulm, when the French marched from 
Boulogne to the Black Forest with a 
mobility unparalleled in previous mili- 
tary history. Paris was supplied with 
water from the river Ourcq, the 
work being inaugxirated with the 
words spoken to Chaptal : "I adopt 
this plan : go home and order five 
hundred men to set to work to-mor- 
row at La Villette to dig the canal t " 

Roads 

The most important of the great 
roads and highways constructed by 
order of N. were the Mont Cenis^ 
which cost 16,000,000 francs; La 
Corniche, which was estimated to 
cost 15,500,000 francs; the Simplon 
and Mont Genfevre. The road from 
Alessandria to Savona cost 4,000,000 
francs ; that from Genoa to Aless- 
andria 1,800,000; whilst that from 
Paris to Madrid, by way of Bayonne, 
was constructed at a cost of 8,000,000- 
francs. Great turnpikes were also 
made from Paris to Amsterdam, from 
Paris to Hamburg, from Paris to 
Mayence, and Tournus to Chambery.. 

Bridges 

Some bridges of great value from 
the point of view of communication 
were constructed by the order of N. 
Those at Tours, Lyons, and across, 
the Is^re ; at Bordeaux, Rouen, 
Avignon, and at St. Cloud and 
Sevres are perhaps the most im- 
portant of these. Between 1804 
and 1 81 3 the expenditure of nearly 
30,000,000 francs was made or? 
bridges alone. 

Canals 

The Emperor was greatly alive to- 
the value of navigable canals through- 
out France, as well as of drainage 
and the recovery of swamp lands. 
On these from first to last about 
120,000,000 francs were expended. 
The principal canals constructed by 
his order were St. Quentin, Seine 
and Aube, Bourgoyne, Napol6on, 



169 



;£NGLISH 

Nantes to Brest, and the Aries and 
Port de Bouc. Drainag-e between 1804 
and 1813 cost over 50,000,000 francs. 

Seaports 

Large sums of money, amounting^ 
to 117,000,000 francs, were also spent 
upon various seaports of France, prob- 
ably with a view to rendering" them 
satisfactory for naval purposes. Cher- 
bourg", Antwerp (which was then 
practically a French port), Flusihing, 
Havre, Dunkirk, Marseilles, Calaiis 
and Dieppe all shared this expendi- 
ture, as well as many smaller ports 
which occupied what seemed to be 
important strateg"ic positions, 

English Opinion (Contempor- 
ary) regarding Napoleon. — The 
contemporary attitude towards events 
destined to become a part of history 
is often quite erroneous, if not even 
fantastic. This is true, in particular, 
of such passing- affairs as endang-er, 
.or appear to endanger, the safety and 
well-being of vast numbers of people ; 
while it is even more true, perhaps, 
concerning" such doing-s as chance to 
be of a dramatic nature. When in 
'the seventeenth century a group of 
Eng"lishmen revolted ag-ainst the un- 
constitutional acts of an amiable and 
cultured but weak and misguided 
king", this revolt appeared nothing- 
less than criminal and dastardly to 
:many people of the time ; while, on 
the other hand, the well-meaning- 
revolutionaries show-ed themselves 
wholly incapable of appreciating- the 
beautiful and pathetic devotion of 
those who opposed their measures 
and stood firm for the Crown. We, 
looking back nowadays, can admire 
both parties ; we can forgive the 
extreme views held alike by Round- 
heads and Cavaliers. In the same 
way, looking- back on the days of 
N.'s' wonderful career, we can for- 
give our ancestors for their execra- 
tion of the Emperor, remembering 
that, for them, each new victory of 
his on the continent seemed to por- 
tend the imminent dehdcle of English 
liberties. 

"There is the man who eats chil- 
dren for dinner," said Thackeray's 
servant to the great novelist when 
the latter, sailing home from India 



ENGUSH 

as a child, had the good fortune to 
see Bonaparte at St. Helena; and, 
indeed, there were thousands of 
people in England during the open- 
ing years of the nineteenth century 
who firmly believed that the "Corsi- 
can ogre," as they styled him, 
was addicted to cannibalism, if not 
to still darker crimes. Others, re- 
ligiously minded, declared that the 
Emperor was that anti-Christ whose 
coming to earth is foretold in the 
Book of Revelation; while, turning 
to the pages of that once popular 
and influential journal. The Gentle- 
man's Magazine, we find that on one 
occasion a parson denounced Bona- 
parte in a sermon as "the fiend of 
the bottomless pit, the Hebrew Abad- 
don, the Greek Apollyon." This was 
a strange verdict to pass, yet words 
akin to these were spoken constantly 
from scores of English pulpits ; and, 
scanning the caricatures of N. drawn 
by English satirists of his day, we 
observe that these men, as surely as 
the parson in question, could find no 
wrath too bitter to hurl at the object 
of their resentment, some of them even 
crediting him with having leagued 
himself with the infernal powers. 

But lit would be wrong to imagine 
that this attitude towards Bonaparte 
was by any means universal among 
his English contemporaries. A num- 
ber of these, dazzled by the romance 
and splendour of his deeds, felt their 
hearts go out to the hero ; and one 
who viewed him thus was Byron, who 
has told how, while a boy at Harrow, 
the decorations in his sanctum in- 
cluded a bust of N. Moreover, though 
the French Revolution was largely 
disapproved of throughout England, 
it had a certain quota of staunch 
supporters there — intelligent people 
who realized that an exceptional 
malady always necessitates an ex- 
ceptionally drastic treatment. And 
many such people, very naturally, 
did homage to N.'s brilliant skill in 
consolidating France after the storm, 
prominent among these devotees being 
Helen Maria Williams (1762-1847), the 
poetess of Edwin and Eltruda, who, 
in a letter of 1797, spoke with just 
cordiality of the young Corsican's 
modesty, his disdain for vulgar 



70 



ENGLISH 

applause, his simple manner of 
living^. Almost simultaneously another 
English authoress, Mary Berry (1763- 
1852), wrote to the effect that she ex- 
pected to see the French reap great 
benefits from Bonaparte's wisdom and 
cleverness; and about the same time 
Coleridge, in his Essays on his own 
Times, maintained that he greatly 
admired the use N. made of his 
rapidly growing power. The writer 
added, nevertheless, that he disliked 
the means whereby this power had 
been acquired ; and herein Coleridge 
was supported by many of his fel- 
low-poets, notably Wordsworth, who 
manifested all along a fervent aver- 
sion to the Emperor. Shelley, too, 
so ardent a devotee of liberty, early 
remarked that Bonaparte was more 
likely to prove an enemy thereto than 
a friend ; while Keats shared his senti- 
ments in this relation ; and Southey 
took up a curious position, declaring 
loudly that the French race were un- 
worthy of the vaunted gift of free- 
dom which had been bestowed on 
them. "The Corsican has offended 
me," he writes, and the phrase 
sounds singularly petty. 

During N.'s Egyptian campaign 
the story got abroad that he was 
wont to bury his wounded alive, and 
this story was actually believed by 
hosts of the English populace. But, 
on Bonaparte's coup d'etat of 18 
Brumaire, opinion of him began to 
undergo a distinct change in Eng- 
land ; for now the Tory party there 
felt and said publicly that they much 
preferred to see the neighbouring 
country of France ruled by a gentle- 
man than by a rabble of regicides, 
and the point of view thus mooted by 
politicians was soon espoused widely 
among the masses. However, this 
wave of feeling in favour of the First 
Consul was short-lived, and when it 
became only too evident that he had 
designs upon England herself criti- 
cism of him rapidly began to grow 
more and more acrimonious. The 
Times, the chief English newspaper 
of the day, was specially loud in de- 
clamations against the alleged crimes 
of the suspected invader ; while The 
Quarterly Review, which at this 
epoch exercised considerable sway 



ENGLISH 

over English thought, went so far 
as to try and belittle N.'s abilities 
as a soldier. Nor, strange to say, 
was this magazine altogether alone 
in that respect, a like charge being 
brought forward in an early bio- 
graphy (undated) of N., the work 
of an otherwise unknown writer, 
Lieut. Scarratt ; while Wellington 
himself, later on, speaking of Bona- 
parte's martial capacities, said he 
"never believed in him, and always 
thought that in the long run we 
should overthrow him. He never 
seemed himself at his ease, and even 
in the boldest things he did there was 
always a mixture of apprehensiion and 
meanness," Still, Wellington always 
refused to believe in the legend of 
N.'s cowardice at Waterloo, and it 
is pleasant to think that the Iron 
Duke was generous in that particular, 
if in nothing else, for was not his own 
military skill warmly pralised by his 
mighty antagonist? 

If it is possible to forgive English- 
men for disparaging N. in this way 
— the fact being, simply, that they 
naturally found it comforting to try 
to imagine he was not so danger- 
ous as they had been led to suppose 
— it is far from easy to pardon our 
ancestors for the attitude many of 
them manifested towards Bonaparte's 
coronation, this attitude being one 
only to be described as offensively 
snobbish. Scarcely was the crown of 
France on the Emperor's head in 1804 
ere Englishmen commenced sneering, 
the tenor of their scorn being that, 
as N. sprang from a comparatively 
humble family, he was making him- 
self ludicrous by assuming regal 
dignity ; and they seemed to forget 
that every family was humble origia-; 
ally, even the proudest and most 
imposing houses owing their position 
to some ancestor hav^ing contrived to 
raise himself above his fellows. They 
seemed to forget that, while might is 
not necessarily right, it was might 
which laid the foundation of every 
royal line; and in 1813, when Bona- 
parte espoused Marie Louise, this 
event was the signal for a further 
outburst of execration, one member 
of parliament, Grant by name, dilat- 
ing in the House on the absurdity 



171 



ENGLISH 

of a Corsican lawyer's son trying, 
"by a connexion with ancient 
families ... to clothe his new 
greatness with something of pre- 
scriptive pomp and veneration," 
This petty strain, -it need hardly be 
said, was ecihoed far and near by 
the press, and now there was a 
great outpouring of anti-Napoleon 
pamphlets, whose titles in most 
cases constitute ample indication of 
the scurrilous nature of their con- 
tents. One, for example, was called 
Plunder and Partition as Practised 
on the Continent hy Bonaparte, and 
another was styled Atrocities of the 
Corsican Demon; while a further one 
purported to furnish A Full, True and 
Particular Account of the Crimes of 
Bonaparte, and yet another, which 
levelled its shafts at the Emperor's 
probity, rejoiced in the name of Bona- 
parte's Promises and Performances. 

While N.'s coronation was mainly 
regarded as a topic for scorn in 
England, a few men there, if only a 
few, had the good sense to raise their 
voices against this practice of making 
game of the man who, of all others, 
was most entitled to sway the French 
sceptre. And one of those who stood 
out thus was Lord Holland, that 
statesman remarking finely, in the 
course of a letter, "May not a people 
give their own magistrate any name 
they choose? " Again, while Bona- 
parte's abdication, and his subsequent 
banishment to Elba, were greeted 
by bursts of British laughter, people 
now feeling that all danger of a 
French invasion was safely over, the 
Imperial exile did not fail altogether 
to win some sympathy in England at 
this time, prominent among those who 
demonstrated this generous point of 
view being the then Lord Ebrington, 
who, visiting N. in his island empire, 
had the courage soon afterwards to 
write of the rare pleasure he experi- 
enced in the interview. An analogous 
tribute came almost simultaneously 
from a Major Vivian, who wrote con- 
cerning his meeting with the Emperor 
in Elba that he had "never passed an 
hour more agreeably " ; and though, 
during the Hundred Days, English 
feeling once more turned fiercely 
against N., he elicited staunch verbal 



ERFURT 

defence and praise at this juncture 
from Byron's friend, Hobhouse, whose 
hatred of the Bourbons and all they 
represented made him the more en- 
thusiastic a Bonapartist. Then while 
Quatre Bras and Waterloo were being 
fought England held her breath, so to 
speak, being too excited either for 
humour or violent satire; but after 
Wellington's triumph the vanquished 
soldier slowly came to be viewed in 
a wholly new light. For English 
people felt gratified, not to say com- 
plimented, on thinking that the man 
who had long been the terror of 
Europe should see fit to resign him- 
self into their hands, and should de- 
clare that he had always found the 
British the most generous of all his 
antagonists ; while later, when he had 
been safely incarcerated at St. Helena, 
a feeling of pity for his misfortunes 
began to grow up. Slowly but very 
surely Britain became more alive to 
the dramatic splendour of his career 
than to the fact that he had once 
menaced her own liberties ; and al- 
though when Sir Walter Scott's 
biography of the Emperor was pub- 
lished in 1827 it was widely voted 
unduly kind to its subject, even at 
this time a glamour was commenc- 
ing to weave itself round the memory 
of the departed soldier. 

I love contemplating — apart 
From all his homicidal glory — 

The traits that soften to our heart, 
Napoleon's story. 

So sang Thomas Campbell, and tlie 
attitude crystallized in his lines is 
nowadays that of almost all generous 
and imaginative Englishmen. 

Erbach, Battle of.— This engage- 
ment, which lasted over twelve hours 
and resulted in heavy losses on both 
sides, was fought on 16 May 1800 
between 15,000 French under Saiinte- 
Suzanne and 36^000 Austrians under 
Kray. The French, who were re- 
peatedly charged by the Austrian 
cavalry (12,000 strong) would have 
been utterly routed had it not been 
for the timely arrival of reinforce- 
ments under St. Cyr, who assiisted 
in driving back the Austrians under 
the cannon of Ulm. 

Erfurt, Convention of.— A treaty 
of alliance signed by the Emperors of 



172 



ESPINOSA 

France and Russia on 12 Oct. 1808. 
Among its provisions were : (i) Russia 
was confirmed lin the possession of Fin- 
land ; (2) Moldavia and Wallaohia were 
to be assigned to her ; (3) in the event 
of a war between Russia and Turkey, 
France was to remain neutral ; (4) if 
Austria declared war on France, 
Russia was to join with the latter ; 
(5) both countries were to gaiarantee 
the remaining possessions of Turkey. 

Espinosa, Battle of.— A battle of 
the Peninsular War, fought on 10 and 
II Nov. 1808 between 25,000 French 
under Victor and a like number of 
Spaniards under Blake. On the fore- 
noon of the loth Marshal Victor 
attacked the Spaniards, who held a 
very strong position and who by a 
gallant resistance succeeded in pro- 
longing the action till nightfall, 
without any disadvantage. On the 
following day, however, Victor, re- 
newing the action at daybreak, 
directed his efforts against Bla:ke's 
left, where the half-starved Asturian 
levies were posted. They fought with 
great courage until their leaders were 
picked off by some French sharp- 
shooters who had been sent forward 
for the purpose; but, finding them- 
selves without cMefs to urge them on, 
they broke and fled, and in a short 
time the whole of Blake's army 
was dispersed, though he afterwards 
managed to collect about 7,000 of 
them, with whom he fell back to 
Reynosa, where he was again com- 
pletely routed by Soult. 

Essling:, Battle of.— See Aspern, 
Battle of. 

Exeimans, Rem! Joseph Isidore, 
Cotint (1775 - 1852).— Marshal of 
France ; entered the army at the age 
of sixteen. His talents gained him 
rapid promotion, and he distinguished 
himself iin Italy under General Brous- 
sier, and subsequently at the conquest 
of Naples under Murat. He became 
aide-de-camp to the latter in 1801, and 
served with him in Austria, Prussia 
and Poland frrwn 1805 to 1807. His 
conduct during the engagement at 
Wertingen and again at Austerlitz 
won for him the rank of colonel, and 
after Eylau he was made general of 
brigade. In the Spanish campaign he 
was so unfortunate as to fall into 



EYLAU 

British hands, and was imprisoned 
in England, but escaped after three 
years, and received from Murat in 
Naples the post of Grand Master of 
Horse. On the outbreak of war with 
Russia he returned to the French 
Army, and as some recognition of 
his courageous example during the 
retreat from Moscow was created 
general of division and decorated in 
1813. On the first abdication he was 
banished from France, but on Napo- 
leon's return from Elba he was created 
a peer and returned to office. Exei- 
mans commanded a cavalry corps at 
Ligny and the operations at Wavre, 
and held a similar position during the 
engagements near Paris. Exiled for 
pronouncing his opinion on Marshal 
Ney's death too freely in the House, 
he lived in Belgium until 1819, when 
he returned to France and was ap- 
pointed to another military position. 
He received further honours from 
Louis Philippe, but in 1848 sided 
with Louis Napoleon, and three years 
later became a marshal of France. 
This brilliant old soldier died from 
the effects of a fall in the hunting- 
field in 1852. 

Eylau and Friedland, Cam- 
paigns of (1806-7). —These cam- 
paigns may be said to be a con- 
tinuation of that of Jena (q.v.), but 
whereas the Napoleonic Army had 
been operating in an agricultural 
country where it was easy for them 
to obtain supplies, they had now to 
face campaigning of a very different 
kind. Poland possessed practically 
no roads, and this militated greatly 
against the French supply and trans- 
port services. These were minutely 
organized but, as it was found in 
the event, unsuitable to the country 
in which the operations were to take 
place. 

In opposition to the highly trained 
and modernly equipped French the 
Russian forces may have appeared 
strangely antiquated in their arma- 
ments and the manner of handling 
the men, but service in their reg^i- 
ments was practically for life, there- 
fore discipline was extremely rigid. 
Inured to hardships and privations of 
every kind, they had their own way 
of fighting, and were bold in attack 



173 



EYLAU 

and tenacious in defence. Their 
artillery was gfood and of heavy 
calibre, but in cavalry they were 
weak, and in reality the Cossack 
was a danger only to small bodies 
of stragglers, andi hesitated to attack 
a force of any size. 

N, was unaware of the rather 
elaborate preparations for war on the 
part of Russia. When the surrender 
of Prenzlau and Liibeck practically 
ended the fighting in Prussia, he at 
once turned his eyes towards Poland, 
and dispatched Davout towards War- 
saw at the begiinning of Nov. 1806. 
The remainder of the army followed as 
speedily as it could be organized. The 
Prussian regimental depots, along with 
their stores and horses, were quickly 
eaten up by the French cavalry moving 
rapidly in advance, until at the Vistula 
it came into contact with Lestocq's 
corps of 15,000 men, which merely 
skirmished and then fell back. Davout 
had no difficulty in reaching and enter- 
ing Warsaw on 30 Nov., and in the 
course of a week or two he was 
reinforced by the guards and the IV. 
and V. corps, the VI. and VII. sup- 
porting him, with Mortier, Jerome 
and Lefebvre advancing towards the 
Polish capital. Prussia was occuplied 
by Frendi conscripts, newly formed 
regiments and veterans, and from 
these he drafted men from time to 
time to fill up the gaps in his ranks, 
trusting in some cases to a training 
of the new units on the long march 
from France to the Russian frontier. 
The Russian forces were divided into 
two bodies, one of 50,000 under Ben- 
nigsen and the other of 25,000 under 
Buxhowden, and these moved slowly 
forward until they arrived in the 
neighbourhood of Pultusk, Plock and 
Prassnitz. They seriously affected 
the French communications between 
Warsaw and Prussia, and the Em- 
peror, who did not desire that his 
troops should experience a winter 
campaign, resolved to put an end to 
their depredations. Two days before 
Christmas he commenced operations 
against them. There were a number 
of difficulties in his way. The French 
found it difficult to maintain communi- 
cation between their various columns, 
and information regarding the enemy's 



EYLAUi 

movements was by no means easily 
procured. It seemed impossible to find 
the Russlians in one concentrated body. 
N.'s object had been to induce them 
to mass in the district of Pultusk, to 
turn their position on the left, to cut 
them from their base, and, if possible^ 
to surround them. But the French, 
used to marching on roads, disap- 
pointed his exj>ectations in regard to 
properly timing their movements. The 
appointed positions were taken up too 
late, and after a rear-guard action 
at Pultusk and desultory fighting at 
Soldau-Golymin the Russians escaped 
from the French attempt to surround 
them. N. had asked too much of his 
troops ; their murmurs were loud, and^ 
indeed, they personally addressed him 
while on the march in no very flatter- 
ing terms. Seeing that he had pushed 
them too far, he resolved to go into 
winter quarters, and retreated on the 
river Passarge and the Baltic country. 
The Russians, under Bennigsen, who 
was now in supreme command, fol- 
lowed his example and took up a posi- 
tion for hibernation in the vidinity of 
Eylau, having been reinforced by 
Lestocq's little brigfade. Russia was 
pushing forward mobilization as 
rapidly as she could for the renewal 
of the campaign in the spring; but 
Ney, with the VI. corps, found it diffi- 
cult to beat up local supplies in Gilgen- 
berg, the most barren district of any 
that had been allotted to the French 
Army, and while foraging for pro^ 
vender got into the Russian sphere. 
Bennigsen mistook this movement for 
a recommencement of hostilities, con- 
centrated on his right, and advanced 
westwards towards Danzig, which was 
still held by the Prussians. Ney was 
compelled to fall back, and Bernadotte, 
who had been mas!king the siege of 
Danzig, was also pushed from his 
base. The whole French Army was 
thereby thrown out of position, but 
Bennigsen had left his own communi- 
cations practically unguarded. On the 
Emperor being assured of this he acted 
with such rapidity that by the end 
of Jan. 1807 he was ready to advance 
with Davout, Augereau, Ney, Soult, 
the guard, and the reserve cavalry, 
Lannes covering his right and Le- 
febvre his outer flank. Once more 



174 



EYLAU 

Bernadotte was not on the spot when 
required; N.'s dispatches to him had 
been seized by Cossacks and were 
broug^ht to Bennigsen, who at once 
perceiving- the state of affairs issued 
orders to concentrate on Allenstein. 
But Soult and Murat got there before 
him. He resolved, therefore, to 
assemble his forces at Joukendorf, but 
once more he was forestalled, the 
French leaders attacking his rear- 
guard on 3 Feb. Afraid that he would 



EYLAU 

holding the frozen lakes of Tenknitten 
and Waschkeiten on either side of the 
road to Eylau. These they routed, 
after a sharp encounter ; both wings- 
of the Russian force were turned, and 
Bagration, who commanded its rear- 
guard, retired through Eylau on the 
main army, which was drawn up in 
battle array east of that small town, 
which was strongly defended by Bar- 
clay de Tolly. Fierce fighting took 
place in the streets and churchyard of 



The,positicns are those cccttpied ott the 
evenitt^ of Feb. 7. iStx;:- The French in 
bivouac on the ground,/roni ivhich they 
had driven the Russian rear£Mard:-The 
Rusiians on the ground. on vuhick they 
received the French attack next morning. 




wMFr„,Hi.f.„^ Battle Of EYJLAU. February 7-8. 1807. l^ ««•<« /-^"^ir 



be surrounded, as it was the French, 
intention that he should be, he with- 
drew by a night march, and managed 
at last to get his whole army together 
on the position of Freussisch-Eylau, 
along the banks of the AUe. Mean- 
while the French were floundering in 
the forests and the snow, and as a 
rule just as they had begun to march 
the short grey day closed in darkness. 
However, they came up with the Rus- 
sians on 7 Feb. near Eylau. A severe 
general engagement ensued : the 
French cavalry and infantry advanc- 
ing from the south-west came into 
collision with a strong Russian force 



Eylau, and several times was it taker* 
and re-taken, until at length the 
French, remained in possession of it. 
It has been said that the French 
soldiers attacked the town so vigor- 
ously in order to find quarters there 
for the night. The Russian Army 
spent the night in the field in extreme 
cold ; the ground w^as deeply covered 
with snow, and the lakes frozen so 
hard that the cavalry could manoeuvre 
upon them. Ney and Davout had not 
yet come up. The former had been 
instructed to take the Russian right 
and to prevent Lestocq's Prussians 
coming to the assistance of the Mus- 



'7^ 



EYLAU 



EYLAU 



cxxvites. Davout was to be hurled 
against Bennig'sen's left wing which 
was massed about Serpallen. N. him- 
self was to direct the frontal attack : 
his forces stretched from a windmill 
on his left through Eylau itself to the 
hamlet Rothenen on the right, and his 
whole front was covered by artillery, 
the cavalry being massed on the wings. 
The guard acted as a second line south 
of Eylau town, and a further reserve 
was massed near Waschkeiten lake. 
Bennigsen was drawn up in line from 
Schloditten to Sausgarten ; his front 
was also covered by artillery, in which 
he was stronger than the Emperor. 

As the first shots of the battle were 
fired, about 8 a.m., a heavy snow- 
storm; was falling. Eylau received a 
fierce bombardment from the Russian 
artillery, which was replied! to by the 
French guns. Then the French 
launched an infantry attack from the 
cover of the town, which was repulsed 
with much loss. The Russian advance 
in full force was then made upon the 
windmill, in answer to which Augereau 
with the VII. corps moved forward 
from his position near the church of 
Eylau against the Russian front, the 
division of St. Hilaire on his right 
assisting in the attack. Augereau' s 
corp« lost its way in the blizzard of 
snow, and St. Hilaire, breaking away 
from him, thus lost his support. 
Augereau had the ill-fortune to cross 
the front of the Russian line obliquely, 
when, of course, his corps was taken 
in flank by the Muscovite artillery and 
almost wiped out. As it was thrown 
into confusion the Russian cavalry 
delivered a furious charge upon its 
flanks, thundering downhill upon it 
like a whirlwind. Only some 3,000 
out of its 14,000 men returned to the 
French lines, the rest being killed, 
wounded or taken prisoners. All the 
senior officers were killed or wounded, 
and Augereau himself, who had con- 
tracted rather a serious illness and 
who, smitten with fever as he was, 
had had himself bound to his horse, 
was badly wounded. The Russians 
penetrated into Eylau itself, N., 
espying the desperate state of the 
force, ordered up a battalion of the 
guard at the psychological moment, 
who coming upon the Russians in the 



streets of the town hustled them badly 
and drove them out. Matters had, 
however, assumed a very serious 
aspect for the French. N. threw out 
the cavalry along the whole line, and 
Murat and Bessi^res swept the Rus- 
sian horse before them, D'Haut- 
poult's cuirassiers charged through 
the Russian artillery and dashed 
through two lines of ■ the infantry : a 
second cavalry attack once more bry>ke 
through the Russian defence, but the 
attackers were badly cut up. By this 
time Davout had occupied Serpallen 
and had got into touch with N.'s right. 
He kept pressing steadily upon the 
Russian left, rolling it backwards until 
his right was upon Kutschitten. N.'s 
men, working from Eylau church, 
wheeled inward until their line came 
into contact with Davout's right at 
Kutschitten ; but Lestocq with the 
Prussians was advancing to the assist- 
ance of the Russians. Up to this time 
they had been skirmishing with Ney 
to the north-west of the field, but 
Lestocq had drawn clear of his oppo- 
nent and had left a rear-guard to hold 
him while he advanced to oppose 
Davout. Advancing with impetuous 
force, he inflicted a check upon 
Davout and forced him back until once 
more his right impinged on Saus- 
garten. Davout had thus been made 
to retreat some two miles by dint of 
the Prussian attack. 

Both sides now began to show signs 
of the severest exhaustion. Ney was 
effectively held by the Prussian rear- 
guard ; the Russian extreme right also 
attacked him, and he began to fall 
into difficulties ; but at last night ended 
the battle. Bennigsen retreated after 
dark through Schmoditten, as did 
Lestocq through Kutschitten, Out of 
80,000 men the French had lost 15,000, 
and out of 7-^,000 troops the Allies had 
lost 18,000 men ; but the French had 
forfeited five eagles and seven other 
colours, and the Russians sixteen 
standards and several batteries. N., 
profoundly irritated at the indecisive 
nature of the battle, vented his spleen 
upon the unfortunate Augereau, whom 
he deprived of his command and sent 
back to Paris. Pursuit on the part 
of the French was impossible, and 
once more N. distributed his men into 



176 



EYLAU 

winter quarters. During" the period 
of rest which remained to them, the 
Emperor worked strenuously to re- 
g-roup and reinforce his army. He 
organized a new line of supply via 
Thorn. Lefebvre was ordered to press 
the siege of Danzig- with vigour, and 
on 2'] May, after a g^allant resistance, 
Marshal Kalckreuth, the brave com- 
mander of the g^arrison, surrendered. 
By I June thie French had filled the 
gaps in their ranks, and no less than 
210,000 men were ready for service. 

Bennig-sen, however, had not been 
idle, for, leaving- Lestocq with 20,000 
Allies to hold Bernadotte who lay on 
the banks of the Passarge, he moved 
southwards at the beg-inning- of June 
and attacked Ney, whiom he drove 
back. Then with most of his forces 
he moved in the direction of Heils- 
berg, where he entrenched himself 
strongly. When this information 
reached the ears of N. he warned his 
forces for mobilization on 6 June — his 
object being to cut Bennigsen off from 
Konigsberg and the coast. To accoim- 
plisb this he collected 147,000 men, 
of the III., VL, VIII., and guard 
corps, together with a new cavalry 
reserve corps under Lannes, with 
which he marched against the Rus- 
sians, throwing Murat and Soult out 
as general advance-guard. Berna- 
dotte was to have attacked Lestocq, 
but as usual failed to receive his orders 
and took no part in the operations 
which followed. Murat attacked the 
outposts of the Russian entrenched 
position on the nth, but could not 
come into touch with the entrench- 
ments themselves. Soult came to his 
support, and was followed by the Em- 
peror himself, who ordered an imme- 
diate attack. The Russians unmasked 
their entrenchments, and as the French 
had no artillery tO' assist them, Soult's 
corps received dreadful punishment, 
and by the time darkness had set in 
12,000 French had been killed and 
wounded. 

Bennigsen had not yet entirely com- 
pleted his arrangements, and having 
reason to believe that his right was 
threatened by the III. corps effected a 
night retreat to Bartenstein, turning 
the following day towards Schippen- 
beil. The Emperor now marched 



EYLAU 

towards Friedland, where he thought 
he could menace the Russian communi- 
cations with Konigsberg, from which 
they received their supplies, but he 
was in a tangle as toi the enemy's 
whereabouts. Murat and Soult had, 
however, got Lestocq and his Prus- 
sians into a corner in the vicinity of 
Konigsberg, towards which the III., 
VI. and VIII. corps with the guard 
were now. moving. Bennigsen, whom 
N. had been hunting for some days, 
was now located at Friedland, or at 
least his centre impinged on that town, 
most of his troops having taken up a 
strong position on the River AUe. 

The battle of Friedland was per- 
haps the contest in which the Napo- 
leonic method of attack was exhibited 
par excellence. The enemy lay upon 
the Emperor's right, and the French 
cavalry under Lannes were at Domnau 
some ten miles farther to the right. 
These were thrown forward to 
"observe " the Russians at Friedland, 
Ney following in close support. 
Davout was directed on the enemy's 
right, and Mortierwith the VIII. corps, 
the guards and the reserve cavalry 
followed as main body. On 14 June, 
which was the anniversary of 
Marengo, Lannes advancing as a 
screen, the Emperor's main body 
gradually came up supported by severe 
artillery "preparation," which ended 
with a general attack about 5 p.m. 
The Russians lost severely, and were 
forced over the Alle. Lestocq was 
driven through Konigsberg, which sur- 
rendered next day. A decisive success 
was achieved. Friedland was in fact 
the first example of the massing of 
artillery in modern warfare, and the 
French infantry, though exhausted, 
were able to pursue Bennigsen' s 
broken regiments through the town of 
Friedland, which was now on fire. 
Lannes and Mortier who throughout 
the battle had been holding the Rus- 
sian centre and right, now launched a 
heavy infantry attack, while Dupont 
assailed the left flank of the Russian 
centre with such effect that the battle 
was soon over. Many Russians were 
drowned in retreating across the river, 
but masses of them managed to retreat 
by the Allenburg road, where for some 
reason they were unpursued. The 



M 



177 



FAMILY 

French lost 12,000 out of 86,000 men, 
and the Russians 10,000 out of 46,000. 



Family Influence upon N.'s 
Career and Destiny.— The ques- 
tion of the influence; of N.'s family on 
his destiny is one of interest. His 
own words in the Memonal are not far 
from the truth : " It is certain that I 
was not well seconded by my family 
and that they did great harm tO' me 
and my cause. My force: of character 
has often been praised, but I behaved 
like a chicken in dealing with my 
family, and they knew it. When the 
first outburst was passed, their per- 
severance and obstinacy carried the 
day. If each of them had gliven a 
common impulse toi the masses con- 
fided to them we would have marched 
to the two poles. We would have 
changed the face of the world. 
Europe would have enjoyed a new 
system, and we would have been 
blessed. I had not the good luck of 
Genghis Khan with his four sons. 
When I named a king he immediatel}- 
thought himself a monarch hy the 
grace of God. He was no longer a 
lieutenant on whom I could depend, 
but an enemy I had tO' watch. They 
all had the mania to believe themselves 
adored and preferred toi me. All their 
efforts were directed towards making 
themselves independent. It was I who 
hampered and imperilled them. Legiti- 
mate monarchs would not have acted 
otherwise or have considered them- 
selves more securely anchored. When 
I succumbed they were made ac- 
quainted with the esteem in which they 
were held." 

Of the whole family N. was certainly 
the most affectionate, devoted, and 
generous. As a son and brother he 
was exemplary in these qualities, as a 
husband he was indulgent and kind. 
It cannot be said that any of his rela- 
tives gave him an adequate return. 
His mother, Mme. M^re, the finest 
character of them all, was an enemy 
of Josephine, and certainly helped toi 
foment the bitter Bonaparte jealousy 
against the Beauhamais, to which can 
be traced not only some of the 
gratuitous scandals against N., but 



FAMILY 

also many of those currents which 
carried away his throne. Josephine, 
whatever her faults, possessed a kind- 
ness of heart and an unfailing tact 
which, apart from, the fact that none 
of the Bonapartes owned such social 
qualities, were of the greatest utility 
and assistance to her husband as First 
Consul and Emperor. The Beauhar- 
nais influence — Josepbine and her son 
and daughter — was of far greater help 
and comfort to N. than the place- 
grabbing and squabbling of his own 
family — Joseph in his quarrel over the 
succession being particularly odious. 
N. knew this well. "They are jealous 
of my wife," he said, "of Eugene, of 
Hortense, of all who surround me. Eh 
bien, my wife has diamonds and debts 
— ^nothing else. Eugene does not 
possess an income of 20,000 livres. I 
love these children because they have 
always been anxious toi please me. If 
there is a cannon shot, it is Eugene 
who goes to see what it is ; if I have 
to cross a trench it is he who gives 
me his hand. Joseph's daughters are 
not yet aware that I am called Em- 
peror; they call me Consul. They 
believe that I beat their mother. Little 
Napoleon (Louis's and Hortense's 
son), on the other hand, when he 
passes the grenadiers in the gardens 
cries out to them, ' Vive Nonon the 
soldier.' They say that my wife is 
false, that her children's attentions are 
interested. Well, be it so. They treat 
me like an old uncle — it gives, none 
the less, all the sweetness in my life. 
I am growing old — I am thirty-six. I 
want rest." Even the cynical Fouche, 
observing the contrast, was con- 
strained to say : " I was intimately 
persuaded that the gentle and kindly 
influence of the Beauharnais was pre- 
ferable to the excessive and imperious 
encroachments of a Lucien." But 
Luclien was mild in his demands com- 
pared to the others. In one particular 
Josephine seriously damaged N.'s 
cause, and' that was in her indiscreet 
confidences, whether fact or surmise, 
which she made to her intimates, who 
in their turn expanded these according 
to their needs and prejudices. Of 
Eugene BeauharnaJis N. could say in 
his days of exile that he had never 
caused him one moment of sorrow. 



178 



FAMILY 

Marie Louise will stand for all time 
as a picture of cowardice, ingratitude 
— infamous in her very weakness. Her 
character well fitted the r6le of political 
decoy, as lis soi clearly shown in the 
ease with which she fell into Neip- 
perg's arms whilst the husband of 
whom she could not possibly be worthy 
was an exile and suffering. Neither 
husband nor son received loyalty or 
devotion from a character the negation 
of true womanhood. It is sufficient to 
contrast her with Catherine of Wiirt- 
temburg (q.v.). If N, had married 
the latter, his destiny and that of 
Europe would probably have been 
vastly different. Such a woman in the 
position of his wife and mother of his 
son would have given the world a noble 
example of loyalty, courage, and high- 
souled devoition. 

The brothers of N. certainly served 
his cause but ill. Joseph, Louis, 
Jerome — ^he raised them to the level that 
he had gained by his own genius, and 
immediately they acted as if he had 
not existed, certainly not made them. 
Joseph, weak in everything but his in- 
sistence on the right of elder brothers ; 
and Louis, morbid and vindictive, went 
so far as to be jealous of the one who 
had lifted them to their dignities. 
Lucien was by far the cleverest, but 
too much so to be practical, yet his 
demands were certalinly the most 
modest of them all. Jerome, who 
affords a paltry spectacle, must needs 
choose the time of the retreat from 
Moscow to endeavour to retain his 
little Westphalia, not seeing that his 
hopes all rested on N.'s success or 
failure. 

The sisters are perhaps worse. 
Elisa posed as more loyal than the 
others, though this was but a mask for 
her intrigues with N.'s enemies. Caro- 
line the venomous-tongiied and evil- 
minded betrayed not only her brother 
but husband and country. Toi Murat, 
thei tool of his wife, N. ascribed the 
principal cause of his downfall — a 
scathing commentary on the characters 
of those who owed all toi himself. 
Pauline, the most lovable of the three, 
by her careless life worked much 
harm tO' her brother's prestige. To 
her credit, however, it must be 
admitted that she truly loved bimi and 



FERDINAND 

lamented his downfall, moreover she 
never blackened herself by intrigues 
against his power or throne. 

His family did not see that their 
only hope of endurance as kings and 
founders of dynasties rested wholly on 
their brother who had so exalted them 
— that as his prowess and genius had 
raised them, so in the continuance of 
that lay their protection and safety. 
They could not see that by obeying 
his commands and supplying himi with 
the materiel of power and rule they 
would build up an unparalleled family 
dynasty — ^that by assuring and sup- 
porting the stability of his throne they 
were most surely establishing their 
own. Only when it was too late did 
the realization come. 

Ferdinand Vli. (1784-1833), King 
of Spain. — Eldest son of Charles 
IV. of Spain and Maria Louisa of 
Parma; was born near Balsain, and 
succeeded his father on the Spanish 
throne at the latter' s abdication in 
1808. As heir apparent he had not 
been permitted to have a say in the 
government, and his succession to the 
throne of such a turbulent kingdom, 
scarcely free, as it was, from: the 
throes of a revolution, gave his 
naturally vile disposition endless excuse 
for tyranny. Two years before his 
succession his first wife, Maria 
Antoniette of Naples, led him into a 
conspiracy against his mother and her 
lover Godoy, the powerful favourite of 
King Charles's reign. The plot was 
discovered, and Ferdinand in abject 
fear basely betrayed his fellow-con- 
spirators, and after his wife's death 
resumed his intrigues with the help of 
other flatterers. The outcome of it all 
was the riot by which Charles was 
forced to renounce his throne, and 
when Ferdinand came into power he 
immediately cringed to the invading 
French. He was dethroned, taken 
priisoner, and sent to Valengay, and 
while his people were fighting for his 
cause With the help of England, their 
king was living a depraved life during 
his enforced stay in France. The old 
king and queen retired to France, after 
having revenged themselves on their 
son by disinheriting himi and leaving 
the fate of Spain in N.'s hands. 
Until 1814 one insurrection after 



179 



FERDINAND 

another kept the country lin a state of 
war and turmoil, causing heavy loss 
of life on both sides. The bitter con- 
tempt which the European powers 
showed for Spain's newly released 
king- in 1814 was only equalled by that 
of his Spanish subjects. Ferdinand 
adopted a despotic role on his return 
to power. He established the old 
doctrine of the "divine right of kings," 
and ruled supremely for the next 
twenty years. A wholesale massacre 
of his own people was the outcome of 
a second French invasion in 1823, as 
a result of the congress of Verona. 
He promised to grant a pardon to the 
insurgents, and on the violation of this 
promise was taken prisoner to Cadiz, 
but escaped and promised tO' reform. 
In 1829 he married his fourth, wife, 
Maria Christina of Naples, who in- 
duced him to leave the throne to 
Philip V. instead of to his brother 
Don Carlos. During the latter years 
of his life Ferdinand became less 
tyrannical. His health suffered from 
his earlier bad habits, and he was the 
tool of his advisers and his domineer- 
ing consort. He died in Sept. 1833, 
and his death was not deplored. In 
a report of N.'s views on the quarrel 
between Charles IV. and his son in 
1808, the Emperor says: "When I 
saw those idiots quarrelling and try- 
ing to oust each other, I thought I 
might well take advantage of it to 
dispossess a family antagonistic to me. 
I did not invent their quarrels, and 
if I had known the matter would have 
brought so much trouble tO' me I 
should never have undertaken it." 

Ferdinand IV. (1751 - 1825).— 
King of Naples and Sicily ; ascended 
the throne in 1767. Previous to this, 
his father, Don Carlos of Bourbon, 
who afterwards became Charles III. 
of Spain, held the regency until his 
death. During his son's minority he 
kept him ignorant of state affairs and 
indulged his fancies, so that he took 
up the reins of government in 1767 
with little or no knowledge of kingly 
deportment. He married Maria Caro- 
lina, daughter of Maria Theresa, who 
soon established a firm sway over the 
King and bis government alike. In 
1793 Ferdinand joined England and 
Austria against France, but was 



FESCH 

obliged to make peace in 1801. Five 
years later he took refuge in Sicily, 
having violated his treaty with N., 
who entered and took possession of 
Naples, and proclaimed his brother 
Joseph king. Maria Carolina was 
banished to Austria, but their son 
Francis was appointed regent to the 
Sicilian throne under British protec- 
tion. In 1808 Ferdinand returned to 
Naples on the deposition of Murat. He 
ruled as a despot, suppressed the 
Sicilian constitution, and introduced a 
system of rigorous tyranny, which 
greatly deteriorated the country during 
his reign and crippled progress. His 
death in 1825 came as a relief tO' the 
people. 

Ferdinand III. (1769-1824),— 
Grand Duke of Tuscany and Archduke 
of Austria, second son of Leopold II. 
In 1790 he succeeded his father as 
Grand Duke of Tuscany, and sided 
with the French at the outbreak of 
the Revolution. Forced to join Eng- 
land and Russia in the coalition 
against the French, he was obliged to 
retire during the occupation of 
Livorno. In 1799 ^^ returned to his 
throne on condition that his terr'itories 
would remain neutral, and a treaty of 
peace with France was signed and 
observed. Two years later, however, 
Ferdinand was compelled to taike 
refuge in Vienna, and resign his 
sovereignty, when Tuscany wasi con- 
verted into the Kingdom of Etrur'ia 
by the peace of Lun6ville (1801). He 
received instead the electorship of 
Salzburg, but exchanged it for that of 
Wiirzburg in 1805. He was present 
at the confederation of the Rhine in 
1806. In 1814 he again occupied his 
Italian throne, but the following year, 
on the outbreak of war with Austria, 
had tO' vacate it, until the victory of 
Waterloo secured it for him once for 
all. He reigned peacefully for nine 
years, bringing out the best of what 
was in his subjects. Art, literature 
and agriculture prospered exceedingly 
under his indulgent rule, but the old 
Tuscan character tended to become 
effeminate. He died in June 1824. 

Fesch, Joseph (1763 - 1839).— 
Cardinal Archbishop of Lyons ; was 
born at Ajaccio on 3 Jan. 1763. The 
mother of Letizia Buonaparte had, on 



180 



FESCH 

the death of her first husband, married 
Francis Fesch, a Swiss officer in the 
serviice of the Genoese Republic, and 
of this union Joseph Fesch was the 
issue. He stood, therefore, in the 
relation of uncle to N. and his brothers 
and sisters, a relationship that was 
emphasized when, after the death of 
Lucien Buonaparte, arch-deacon of 
Ajaccio, he became patron and pro- 
tector of the family. 

The childhood of Joseph Fesch was 
spent lin Corsica, where he was the 
friend and playmate of the unruly little 
Napoleon, to whom he taught the 
alphabet. Desjined for the church, 
Fesch was sent in hiis fifteenth year to 
the seminary at Aix (1778). Later it 
was he who administered the last 
sacraments to the father of N., dying" 
at Montpellier. In his correspondence 
with his nephew, after his own return 
to Corsica, he never failed to keep him 
fully apprised of the trend of events 
in the island. He also encouraged N. 
in his literary efforts, and in the 
memoir on the oath required from 
priests was collaborator wlith him. In 
later years lit was to Fesch that N. 
confided the care of his private 
papers. 

The outbreak of the French Revolu- 
tion in 1789 found Fesch installed as 
arch-deacon of Ajaccio, and he, 
together with the majority of Corsi- 
cans, was violently opposed to the 
French Government, especially in 
regard to their enactments against the 
clergy. On the suppression of the 
religious orders he retired into private 
life, and later threw in his lot with the 
Buonapartes, sharing their fortunes in 
the troublous times which ensued. 
They gradually influenced his political 
sympathies, and he withdrew from the 
Paolist party and espoused the French 
cause, and together with Lucien 
became a leader in the radical club. 
In 1790 Fesch and Joseph were chosen 
toi represent Ajaccio at the Constituent 
Assembly of Orezza. The autumn of 
1793 saw the temporary defeat of the 
latter, and Fesch accompanied the 
Buonaparte family in their flight to 
Toulon. The severities exercised 
towards the priesthood during the 
period of the Terror induced him pru- 
dently to lay aside his clerical vocation 



FESCH 

and enter civil life. He filled several 
obscure positions, amongst others that 
of storekeeper, but on the appointment 
of N. to the command of the French 
Army in Italy he became a commissary 
attached to that army. When in 1799 
his nephew was made First Consul, 
the fortunes of Fesch, as those of the 
rest of the family, rose rapidly. The 
restoration of the Roman Catholic 
religion as the national faith was one 
of N.'s projects, therefore Fesch re- 
sumed his former calling and took a 
leading part in the negotiations, difficult 
and complex, which led to the ratifica- 
tion of the Concordat between France 
and the Holy See on 15 July 1801. 
Shortly afterwards he was made Arch- 
bishop of Lyons ; in Aug. 1802 he was 
consecrated by Caprara, the Pope's 
legate, and in the early part of the 
following year received his cardinal- 
ship. 

In 1804 Cacault retired from the 
position of French ambassador at 
Rome and Cardinal Fesch was 
appointed, with Chateaubriand as first 
secretary, who differed acutely from 
his chief on many questions. One of 
the most difficult tasks possible was 
entrusted to the new ambassador, and 
this was to secure the presence of the 
Pope at the forthcoming coronation of 
N. at Notre Dame, Paris (2 Dec. 
1804). It needed infinite tact in 
negotiation, and the fact that only 
eight months previously the Due 
d'Enghien had been executed added to 
the difficulties. He overcame the 
reluctance of the Pope, however, and 
accompanied him to Paris, assiisting at 
the ceremony. It was Fesch who on 
the night of i Dec. 1804, the night 
preceding the coronation, performed 
the relig^ious marriage of N. and 
Josephine in the presence of two 
witnesses, Talleyrand and Berthier. 
This was undertaken with the end in 
view of removing the Pope's objection 
to crowning a pair united only by divil 
law and also of allaying Josephine's 
ever-present fears of divorce. The 
following year Fesch was made grand 
almoner of the Empire, was invested 
with the grand cordon of the Legion 
of Honour, and chosen by the electoral 
college of Lot a member of the Senate. 
He was also presented by the King 



181 



FESCH 

of Spain with the Order of the Golden 
Fleece. In 1806 the Prince-Bishop of 
Reg-ensburg, Karl von Dalberg-, named 
him his coadjutor and successor. But 
the years 1806 and 1807 saw a cloud- 
ing' of his brilliant prospects. The 
political and religious disputes between 
N. and the Pope were acute and bitter, 
and Fesch occupied the unenviable 
position of intermediary, trying in vain 
to reconcile the two potentates. The 
Pope refused to give way where the 
interests of the church seemed 
threatened, whilst the Emperor would 
not abate one jot of his demands. The 
latter loaded Fesch with reproaches, 
blaming- him for the obstinacy of the 
Pope and suspecting him of weakness 
and ingratitude, though there is evi- 
dence to show that the Cardinal 
actually counselled the submission of 
the spiritual to the civil power. On 
the other hand, relations with the Pope 
became strained, and at last the Em- 
peror recalled Fesch from Rome. The 
crisis was reached in 1809 when N. 
issued at Vienna the decree of 17 May 
commanding the annexation of the 
Papal States to France. The same 
year he nominated Fesch to the arch- 
bishopric of Paris, but this, however, 
the Cardinal declined. He took part in 
an ecclesiastical commission formed by 
the Emperor from the dignitaries of 
the Galilean church, but this was 
quickly dissolved. The year 18 10 saw 
his hopes reg-arding the succession to 
the Prince-Bishop of Reg-ensburg 
damped, for N. revoked his consent 
thereto and entered into an arrange- 
ment whereby Regensburg- was 
absorbed in Bavaria. In 181 1 a 
national council of Galilean clerics was 
convoked by the Emperor for the dis- 
cussion of church affairs, and of this 
Fesch was appointed president. Ag:ain 
he opposed N.'s violent and extreme 
measures against the church and 'its 
pontiff, and at last the Emperor dis- 
missed him to his diocese. The follow- 
ing year saw the quarrel still more 
acute. In June 1812 Pius VII. had 
been brought to Fontainebleau froim 
his first place of detention, Savon, and 
here he was kept under surveillance 
with the idea that at last he would 
give way on certain questions con- 
nected with the Concordat and clerical 



FESCH 

affairs. His correspondence was inter- 
cepted, and among- the letters was 
found one from Cardinal Fesch. It 
came into the hands of N., who was 
angered to such an extent that he 
stopped the sum of 150,000 florins 
which had been allocated to Fesch. 
The attitude of the Emperor towards 
the Pope became more lenient after 
the troubles of 1812-13, consequently 
the Cardinal was restored tO' a 
measure of favour. On the first 
abdication, 11 April 1814, and the 
restoration of the Bourbons, he retired 
to Rome and was welcomed there. He 
lived in great privacy until he heard 
of N.'s escape from Elba, when he 
threw open his palace and entertained 
in honour of the event, acknowledging 
openly that he considered h'is nephew's 
return to France the especial work of 
Divine Providence. The Hundred 
Days (March-June 181 5) brought him 
back to France, where he resumed his 
arch-episcopal duties at Lyons and was 
made a member of the Senate. On the 
second abdication (22 June 181 5) he 
again retired to Rome, refusing- to the 
last to resign the archbishopric of 
Lyons or to nominate a coadjutor, 
showing the same determination in this 
as he had displayed in his opposition 
to his nephew. In the autumn of 18 19 
when N. 's ill health became worse 
after the dismissal of O'Meara from 
St. Helena, it was Fesch who selected 
Dr. Antommarchi, a Corsican physi- 
cian, to attend the fallen Emperor. 

Cardinal Fesch had always en- 
couraged and patronized the arts, and, 
lavish in his expenditure, he had 
gathered a valuable collection of 
masterpieces, many of which he 
bequeathed to Lyons. In character he 
was liberal and affable to all, show- 
ing neither sternness nor intolerance. 
To the young Buonapartes he had been 
and was always a favourite "Uncle," 
Fesch often being chosen as confidant 
in later years. His appearance was 
not commanding though he was tall ; 
but his smooth, calm-featured face 
radiated good humour, and is aptly 
described in that phrase of his nephew 
Lucien, who spoke of his uncle as 
being "ever fresh, not as a rose, but 
like a good radish." He died at Rome 
on 13 May 1839. 



182 



FINANCE 

Finance. — See Consulate and 
Empire. 

Flahault de la Biilarderie, 
Auguste Charles Joseph, Comte 

de (1785-1870).— Soldier and diplo- 
matist ; although regarded as the son 
of the Comte de Flahault, was known 
to be the natural son of Talleyrand, 
Wihose liaison with Mme. de Flahault, 
afterwards Mme. de Souza, was 
notorious. On the outbreak of the 
Revolution Flahault was taken abroad 
by his mother, but returning" toi France 
he entered the army as a volunteer 
and won promjDtion at Marengo. He 
became aide-de-camp toi Murat, and lin 
1805 was wounded at Landbach. 
While in Warsaw his amour with the 
famous Countess Potocki, Anna Ponia- 
towski, caused not a little scandal. 
He served with distinction in the 
Peninsular War (1808), in the Russian 
campaign, and in 181 2 became general 
of brigade. In 1813 N. appointed him 
one of his aides-de-camp, and after 
Leipsic made him a general of 
division. He was an intimate of 
Eugene de Beauharnais, and is said 
to have been the lover of his sister, 
Queen Hortense (q-V-), after the 
virtual separation from her husband, 
Louis Bonaparte. The Due de Morny 
(q.v.) was generally believed to have 
been the child of this liaison. After 
the first abdication he gave his 
allegiance to the Bourbons, but his 
name was placed on the retired list. 
During the Hundred Days he was 
dispatched by N. on a mission to 
Vienna to procure the return of Marie 
Louise and the King of Rome, but was 
unsuccessful. After N.'s downfall he 
enjoyed Talleyrand's protection. In 
England, whither he proceeded, he 
married Margaret Elphinstone (1788- 
1867), daughter of Admiral George 
Keith Elphinstone, who became the 
Baroness Keith and Nairne in her own 
right. He died on i Sept. 1870. 

Flogging.— N. hated flogging as em- 
ployed in his day for maintaining disci- 
pline in the European armies. Sipeak- 
ing in 1816 he said: "I raised many 
thousands of Italians who fought with 
a bravery equal to that of the French, 
and who did not desert me in danger. 
What was the cause? I abolished 
flogging. Instead of the lash I intro- 



FLORENCE 

duced the stimulus of honour. What- 
ever debases a man cannot be service- 
able. What sense of honour can a 
man have who is flogged before his 
comrades? When a soldier has been 
debased by stripes he cares little for 
his own reputation, or the honour of his 
countr}\ After an action I assembled 
the officers and soldiers and inquired 
who had proved themselves heroes. 
Such as were able to read and write 
I promoted. Those who were not I 
ordered to^ study five hours a day until 
they had learned a sufficiency and then 
promoted them. Thus I substituted 
honour and emulation for terror and 
the lash." Speaking of the English 
soldiers, N. said: "The English 
soldier is brave, none more so. . . . 
In place of the lash I would discipline 
them by honour. I would excite a 
spirit of emulation in them and pro- 
mote them according to their deserts. 
What might not be hoped fromi the 
English Army if each who behaved 
well had the chance of becoming a 
general some day." 

N.'s humane method stands in direct 
contrast to that of Wellington, whose 
devotion to the lash is well known, and 
whose attitude to his army of splendid 
fighters is summed up in his repeated 
phrase "the scum of the earth," an 
unjust statement, for his rank and file 
included many devoted and patriotic 
men. His soldiers lived under a 
savage and brutalizing discipline. 
Lord Hutchinson told Romilly of a 
British soldier being flogged to death 
for coming dirty on parade. Lord 
Hill, however, serving under Welling- 
ton, deprecated the use of the lash and 
believed in personal influence, with the 
result that his division was the best 
behaved in the British Army. 

Florence, Treaty of.— During the 
Italian campaign of i8oo-i Murat, at 
the head of his French, troops, entered 
Naples and forced the king of that 
country, Ferdinand IV., tO' sign a con- 
vention, subsequently replaced by the 
treaty of Florence (28 March 1801). 
By this treaty Ferdinand gave up 
TarantO' to France, engaged himself to 
maintain there a French garrison of 
15,000, and to close his ports tO' British 
trade, a foreshadowing of N.'s later 
commercial policy towards England. 



183 



FONTAINEBLEAU 

Fontainebieau, Austro-French 
Convention signed at, — This Con- 
vention, signed on ii Oct. 1807 by 
France and Austria, accentuated the 
semblance of gxx)d relations between 
the two countries. Actually it was to 
the great advantage of France. It 
extended the Italian frontier to the line 
of the River Isonzo, and that without 
compensating Austria for the terri- 
torial loss entailed, though Brannau, 
on the Bavarian frontier, was evacu- 
ated by the French. 

Fontainebleau, Conventions o-F- 
— On 2"] Oct, 1807 N. concluded a 
secret Convention with Spain at Fon- 
taiinebleau. Its provisions were : (i) 
the King of Etruria was to surrender 
his kingdom to N. in exchange for a 
Portuguese principality, Entre Minho 
e Douro, and the title of King of 
Northern Lusitania; (2) the provinces 
of Algarve and Alemtejo were to be 
given to the Spanish minister Godoy ; 
(3) the King of Spain was to receive 
the title of Protector of Entre Minho e 
Douro; (4) N. guaranteed to him his 
possession of the Spanish territories 
south of the Pyrenees. After the con- 
clusion of the treaty the Bourbon 
Marie Louise, Queen-regent of Etru- 
ria, whose unskilful rule and continued 
thwarting of his policy had disgusted 
N., was pensioned and exiled. Simul- 
taneously with the signing of thisi Con- 
vention a military convention was also 
signed at Fontainebleau, by which 
28,000 French troops, aided by 11,000 
Spaniards, were to march against 
Lisbon; 16,000 Spanish troops were to 
invade Portugal ; and 40,000 French 
were to stand at Bayonne ready to 
support the Franco-Spanish corps in 
the event of a British, attack. 

Fontainebleau, Decrees of,— On 
18 and 25 Oct. 1810 N. issued the 
Fontainebleau Decrees as part of an 
elaborate scheme for the destruction of 
British trade. The decree of 18 Oct. 
ordered the seizure and burning of all 
British manufactured goods found in 
France or in countries under French 
control; the decree of 25 Oct. estab- 
lished forty-one courts or tribunals to 
settle questions arising out of the 
former decree, to reward those who 
helped to put it into force, and to 
punish persons responsible for intro- 



FONTAINEBLEAU 

ducing British goods into the conti- 
nent. The Fontainebleau Decrees, 
resulting in want and privation among 
the poor and middle classes, caused 
much dissatisfaction, especially on the 
shores of the North Sea. 

Fontainebleau Plot, The (1814). 
— According to the Duchesse 
d'Abrantes, there was a plot to 
assassinate N. when at Fontainebleau 
before his abdication. She gives the 
following account of the affair : 

"Napoleon was at Fontainebleau 
with Berthier, Maret, Caulaincourt, 
Bertrand, and the majority of his mar- 
shals. This part of the Emperor's 
history is perhaps unexampled in the 
■world's history . . . nothing in the 
pages of history presents any parallel 
to what passed at Fontainebleau dur- 
ing the days and, above all, the nights 
passed there by Napoleon, abandoned 
by fortune and surrounded by those 
whoim he supposed to be his friends. 
A thick veil was drawn over the event, 
for the principal actors in it carefully 
concealed their baseness from the eyes 
of the world. Few persons are aware 
that Napoleon was doomed to death 
during the few days which preceded 
his abdication by a band of conspira- 
tors oompoised of the most dis- 
tinguished chiefs of the army. ' But,' 
said one of these in the council in 
which these demons discussed their 
atrocious projects, ' what are we to 
do with him. There are two or three 
amongst us who, like Antony (alluding 
to the Dukes of Vicenza and Bassano, 
Marshal Bertrand, and some others), 
would exhibit his blood-stained robe to 
the people and make us play the parts 
of Cassius and Brutus. I have no wish 
to see my house burned and be put to 
flight. ' ' Well, ' said another, ' we 
must leave no trace of him. He must 
be sent to Heaven like Romulus.' 
The others applauded, and then a most 
horrible discussion ensued. It is not 
in my power to relate the details. 
Suffice it to say that the Emperor's 
death was proposed and discussed for 
the space of an hour with a degree 
of coolnesis which might be expected 
among Indian savages. * But,' said 
he whoi had spoken first, ' we must 
come to some determination. The 
Emperor of Russia is impartial. Now 



184 



FONTAINEBLEAU 

for the last time we will speak to him 
of his abdication. He must sign it 

definitely or ' A horrible gesture 

followed hlis last word. The life of N. 
was threatened by those very men 
whom he had loaded with favours, to 
whom he had given lustre from the 
reflection of his own glory. N. was 
warned of the conspiracy, and it must 
have been the most agonizing event of 
his whole life. The torments of St. 
Helena were nothing in comparison 
with what he must have suffered when 
a pen was presented to him by a man 
who presumed to say, ' Sign — if you 
wish to live ! ' . . . The Emperor 
wished to ascertain the feeling of the 
army before he adopted a final resolu- 
tion. N. made choice of the Marshals 
Macdonald, Lefebvre, Oudinot, Ney, 
and the Dukes of Bassanoi and Vicenza 
to convey to the Emperor of Russia 
the proposals which he made to the 
Allied powers. Some time previously 
to this there occurred a scene the re- 
membrance of which fills me with 
indignation against the man whom it 
almost exclusively concerns — I allude 
toi Berthier. He was withi the Em- 
peror, and he invented an excuse for 
leaving him at that moment. He 
alleged that his presence was required 
at Paris for the purpose of securing 
some papers which were of importance 
to the Emperor himself. Whilst he 
spoke N. looked at him, With melan- 
choly surprise, which, however, Ber- 
thier did not or would not observe. 

* Berthier,' said N., taking his hand, 

* you see how much, I require at this 
moment to be surrounded by my true 
friends.' These last words were pro- 
nounced emphatically. Berthier made 
no reply. Napoleon continued, ' You 
will be back to-morrow', Berthier ? ' 
' Certainly, Sire,' replied the Prince 
of Neufchatel. And he left the Em- 
peror's cabinet with treason in his 
heart. After his departure N. re- 
maiined silent for some time, looking 
downwards, and then, laying his hand 
on the arm of the Duke of Bassano, 
said, 'Maret, he will not come back.' 
N. was right, Berthier did not return." 

Fontainebleau, Treaty of. — 
The treaty of Fontainebleau (ii April 
1 814) was designed to fix the rank and 
financial position of N. dur'ing his first 



FORTUNE 

period of exile. In signing it he 
ratified the act of abdication of 4 April, 
though in the few days' interval he 
more than once repented his abdica- 
tion, and even tried to commit suicide 
as an alternative to its ratification. 
The provisions of Fontainebleau were : 
(i) N. was toi have a yearly revenue of 
2,000,000 francs, with reversion of 
1,000,000 to the Empress; (2) a 
revenue of 2,500,000 francs was to be 
divided among the members of his 
family; (3) a sum of 2,000,000 francs 
was to be granted for distribution 
among his followers; (4) the Duchies 
of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla were 
assigned to Marie Louise, who was to 
be succeeded by his son and his heirs ; 
(5) the Island of Elba was given to 
N, himself in full sovereignty. The 
duchies given to Marie Louise were 
granted by the Allies, Elba and the 
revenues by France. It may be noted 
that N., having been offered the choice 
of Corsica, Corfu, and Elba in wihich 
to pass his exile, himself chose the 
latter island, a step which he after- 
wards bitterly regretted. Indeed, he 
came to regard the entire treaty as a 
gross betrayal, and perhaps not with- 
out reason, since practically all its 
articles were afterwards violated. 

Fortune. — A pug belonging to 
Josephine and mentioned by N. in his 
letters tO' her. Arnault in his Memoirs 
says that in 1794, in the days of the 
Terror when Josephine and her hus- 
band were imprisoned, this dog was 
the bearer of secret messages attached 
to his collar between them and their 
children and friends. Because of this 
Josephine adored the animal, though 
it was "neither good, beautiful, nor 
amiable," and refused to be parted 
from it. One day in 1797 the pam- 
pered creature was curled up on the 
couch beside its mistress, and N., turn- 
ling to Arnault, laughingly remarked : 
"You see that dog there. Well, he 
isi my rival. He was in possession of 
Mme. 's bedroomi when I married her. 
I wished to depose him, but — what 
use ! I was only told I must resign 
myself to sleep elsewhere or consent 
to share it with him. That was suffi- 
ciently exasperating, but as lit was a 
question of taking or leaving, I re- 
signed myself. The favourite was not 



18s 



FOUCHE 

SO' accommodating. I carry the proof of 
it in my leg." The dog was certainly 
unpleasant with its habits of barking 
at everyone and biting men and other 
dogs. Its end was therefore tragic. 
At Montebello Fortune, resentful as 
usual, snapped at a mastiff which 
belonged to N.'s cook. The mastiff, 
also resentfulj_ killed the pet on the 
spot. Josephine was in tears, but soon 
after found consolation in another dog. 
One day on meeting' N. the cook fled, 
whereupoTi N, recalled him and de- 
manded the reason of his flight. The 
cook instanced the death of Fortune, 
saying he had feared N.'s displeasure. 
N., however, asked where the mastiff 
was, at which his servant remarked 
that he now never allowed it in the 
garden, especially since Mme. had 
another pet. N. smiled and said : 
" Let him come in as often as he likes ; 
perhaps he will rid me of this other 
fellow as well." 

Fouch^, Joseph, due d'Otrante 
(1763-1820). — Born at Nantes on 29 
May 1763, the son of a sea captain. 
At first the boy was destined tO' follow 
his father's calling, but his feebleness 
of health and physique forbade it. For 
his education he had (been sent to one 
of the establishments of the order of 
Oratorians, and there the child's pre- 
cocious mind had attracted the notice 
of his instructors. They undertook his 
further education, and he displayed 
marked ability in science and litera- 
ture, his favourite volume being, it is 
said, the Pensees de Pascal. Having 
decided upon the pedagogic profession, 
he finished his studies at Paris, and 
finally became a tutor in moral 
philosophy and mathematics at Arras, 
Saumur, Niort, Juilly and the military 
school of Vendome. It was at Arras 
that he first met Robespierre, and, 
according to one account, lent him the 
necessary funds to' enable him tO' reside 
in Paris on being appointed deputy tO' 
the States-General. 

When the Revolution broke out 
Fouche was a superior in the college 
of Nantes. He was not a priest, never 
having taken orders, and now he 
severed his connexion with the 
Church, with some idea, it is stated, 
of qualifying for the profession of 
advocate. He also married, and 



FOUCHE 

entered the political life of the city, 
founding a club, called the Patriotic 
Society. Here he became popular by 
the violence of his harangues and the 
fury of his revolutionary opinions. 
Later he was elected a deputy for the 
department of the Lower Loire to the 
Natiomal Convention. 

Fouch^ has left on record a descrip- 
tion of himself which, remembering 
the fanaticism and ruthless ferocity 
that distinguished his revolutionary 
career, is of interest : " . . . morally 
I was what the age was, with the 
advantage of being soi, neither from 
imitation nor infatuation, but from 
reflection and disposition " — a state- 
ment and avowal which but renders 
his deeds, in one sense, all the more 
infamous. At first his intellectual sym- 
pathies linked him with Condorcet and 
the Girondins, but during the trial of 
the King he went over to the extreme 
party, the Montagnards. When, it was 
suggested that^the fate of the monarch 
should be decided by an appeal toi the 
people, he delivered a speech of which 
the following is a passage : " I demand 
the execution of the tyrant. We 
appear terrified at the courage with 
which we have abolished royalty : we 
tremble before the shadoiW, of a king. 
Let us assume a republican attlitude : 
let us make use of the ample powers 
with which the nation has invested 
us : let us discharge our duty in the 
widest sense, for we are mighty 
enough to control all authorities and 
all events." His vote was for "death, 
without appeal and without delay." 

Fouch6 was next entrusted with the 
carrying out of the punitive missions 
of the Convention as their deputy, first 
toi the department of the Aube and 
afterwards toi that of the Ni^vre. The 
special objects of his attention were 
the priests, nearly a hundred of which 
he dispatched to Nantes for the 
noyades or drowning matches of that 
suffering city. He was next at Lyons 
"chastising that recalcitrant city with 
fire and sword." 

One thing must be admitted, that 
once he had carried out the punitive 
measures — a necessary and salutary 
proceeding, according toi his con- 
victions — he otherwise exerted a 
moderating influence and showed 



186 



FOUCHE 

powers of administration of no mean 
quality. On the relig-ious plane his 
efforts culminated in the fantastic 
Worship of Reason. Among' other 
details all religious emblems on the 
highways were to be cast down, priests 
were not to appear in public in their 
vestments, and burials were to take 
place without any ceremonies. For 
the living he decreed that luxury and 
wealth, even the actual use of money, 
were to be abolished — ^his words to the 
Assembly were : " Let us abolish gold 
and silver and fling away all such idols 
of monarchy ! " To explain these 
views to the people, Fouche even 
undertook a series of lectures. 

On returning to Paris Fouche ren- 
dered an account of his missions, and 
was immediately elected president of 
the Jacobin Club. Rotoesplierre was 
now at the zenith of his power, and 
Fouch^ had the temerity to make some 
mocking remarks in public regarding 
his friend's theistical tendencies. On 
the celebration of the Fete de I'Etre 
Supreme he had laughed at Robes- 
pierre's devotion, saying: "Ttt nous 
enibeles avec ton etre supreme/' The 
retort he received was the impeach- 
ment of himself on the charge of hav- 
ing "disgraced the Revolution by his 
excesses," and, further, for his friend- 
ship wiith Chaumette of Nifevre, "who 
had laboured to root out the belief of 
a God and who, for his crimes, had 
recently been sent to the guillotine." 
Fouch^ was expelled from the club, 
and in terror he hastened to the 
National Convention and cravenly 
loaded the memory of Chaumette, his 
erstwhile friend, with odlious vitupera- 
tion. Even Robespierre was moved to 
make the contemptuous remark, 
" There is no use in casting dirt on 
the tomb of your late associate; you 
should have made your attack while 
he was alive and able to answer you." 
Fouch^ was bidden to prepare his 
defence, for the Convention appointed 
an inquiry to be made into his con- 
duct. He went into hiding, but 
addressed a plea to the assembly to 
suspend their judgment until the facts 
were known, "for he was only one 
member of collective author'ity, the 
power of decision was not entrusted 
to himself alone." The sarcastic 



FOUCHE 

observation of Robespierre was: "As 
for the despicable impostor Fouche, 
it is less for his past crimes that I 
denounce him than for his concealing 
himself to commit new ones. Why 
does he not come and defend himself? 
Is he afraid that his miserable visage, 
stamped with crime, w^ould at once 
condemn him? " 

The result of this "concealment" 
was not long in discovering itself; his 
gift for intrigue was exerted to the 
utmost, for it was now a question 
of his own life. Thermidor came, 
and with it the ghastly downfall of 
Robespierre. Fouche weathered the re- 
action against the Terrorists, and by 
hi^ skill and adroitness managed to 
keep himself, together with Carnot 
(q.v.) and Tallien {q.v.), at the head 
of affairs. At last, however, he was 
attacked by Boissy d'Anglais. In an 
unguarded moment Fouch6, in the 
Convention, claimed vaingloriously 
more than his share of merit in the 
recent revolution, whereupon Boissy 
d'Anglais replied: "No, you had no 
share in the events of that day ; it 
was too glorious to be sullied by the 
support of such a wretch." The 
attack was carriied farther ; Fouche 
was charged with the commission of 
acts of robbery and murder, and was 
expelled as "a thief and a terrorist 
w^hose crimes would cast eternal dis- 
grace on any assembly of which he 
was a member." He w^as thrown into 
prison, but the general amnesty of Oct. 
1795 saved him. 

Fouche 's own journal states that 
now for nearly three years he was in 
complete disgrace, "without regular 
employment, without respect, without 
interest." This is not quite true, for 
employment he did have, that of a spy 
to the Jacobin Party in the Directory. 
In this capacity he joined the following 
of Babeuf, the Socialist, and when in 
full possession of the Communiste plot 
for the overthrow of private property, 
revealed the details to the Directorate, 
and Babeuf was guillotined. Barras 
{q.v.) would fain have given Fouch6 
an official position, but feeling was too 
strong. He was given, hoi\Vever, an 
army contractorship, and played the 
jobber in contracts to such purpose 
that by his own confession he was able 



187 



FOUCHE 

in a short time "not only to make an 
independent fortune for myself, but to 
assist many a wx>rthy but neglected 
patriot." At last Barras was success- 
ful in Fouche's interest, and he was 
made g-overnor of the Cisalpine 
Republic. He was entrusted with 
various other foreign missions, in none 
of wMch were the results too success- 
ful, and when he returned to France, 
Sieyfes (q.v.), then planning more re- 
pressive police measures, appointed 
Fouch6 as Minister of Police on 
I Aug. 1799. No other position oould 
have been found so peculiarly fitted 
for the display of this man's gifts, and 
he became the head of the most for- 
midable police system ever devised. 
He says that upon his appointment he 
found " the treasury empty, therefore 
— no money, no police." This con- 
dition of aifairs he soon remedied. By 
a system of gambling-hells working in 
connexion with houses of pro!Stitution 
— taxed en masse as well as the tax 
paid by each individual employed 
therein — Fouch^ secured enormous 
revenues for his secret police, besides 
a productive source of information. 
Under his rule political discussion was 
banned, his agents also had the power 
to make indiscriminate domiciliary 
visits. The press, the greatest lion in 
his path, he soon removed. 

At the time of Bonaparte's return 
from Egypt the two most powerful in- 
fluences in France were Siey^s and 
Fouche, the latter, however, im- 
measurably the stronger by reason of 
his character and position. 

He now rendered himself necessary 
to the ambitious general, abandoning 
Siey^s with admirable ease. He 
assisted N. in bringing about the coup 
d'etat of Bruma' 2 (9 Nov. 1799), 
arresting the deputies who were con- 
sidered dangerous and rendering other 
services only to be accomplished by his 
police. This connexion soon became 
on N.'s part a toleration, but also a 
necessity, although he saw through 
Fouche's smooth duplicity. N.'s keen 
business instinct realized the value of 
Fouohd's services, though he quite 
understood that he had never known 
the meaning even of faithfulness 
and would certainly never acquire it. 
On Fouche's part he certainly recog- 



FOUCHE 

nized his master in N., but was dis- 
cerning enough to know that the First 
Consul was not his equal in intrigue. 
His system still continued to develop, 
his espionage included N. himself and 
Josephine. At home all were in his 
pay, Bourrienne {q.v.), N.'s private 
secretary, was his pensioner. Abroad 
he had also his spies; the most im- 
portant phases of foreign policy were 
open to him. He had among these 
agents of his three needy princes of 
the ancien regime, for, divining a possi- 
ble resurrection of the Royalist cause, 
he had rendered them certain services 
and of their gratitude and impecuni- 
osity he made good account. He like- 
wise privately helped the Jacobins, and 
thus, a^lways in view of eventualities, 
secured a pleasant footing with both. 
But he never allowed his position to 
be endangered by these services or by 
any obligation. In the affair of Niv6se, 
the famous bomb attempt upon the 
First Consul's life, Fouche, by stating 
that it was the work of Royalists, laid 
himself open to the suspicion of 
Jacobinism. Upon N. declaring his 
belief that the Jacobins were at the 
bottom of lit, Fouch^, with his usual 
sangfroid, drew up a list of that party 
for due punishment. 

By now, however, the full extent of 
the power and sway of this Minister 
of Police had alarmed N., for in him 
he saw an almost unparalleled menace 
toi his authority. Acoordingfly the 
ministry of the police was now 
abolished, and the "maintenance of 
public order entrusted to the gens 
d'armes and the regular tribunals." 
Fouch6 received a senatorship, and for 
consolation half the reserve funds 
which during his term of office had 
been accumulated by the police. 

But though deposed from office, 
Fouche did not cease to employ his 
own secret agents, and by the 
superiority of his information to that 
of the official police the wily intriguer 
rendered himself more necessary than 
ever to N., especially at the time of 
the Pichegru-Cadoudal conspiracy in 
1804. After this episode Fouche was 
reinstated, and again, his police system, 
in full swing, he ranged himself beside 
N. He knew of everything and every- 
body. He made himself necessary to 



FOUCHE 

the members of N.'s family, and by 
his knowlexjge thus gained held them 
in his fKxwer. The press was censored 
more strictly than ever, and it was 
Fouch6 who ordered the seizure of 
Mme. de Stael's book, whilst he told 
its author that the air of France did 
not suit her health. On the creation 
of the great feudatories Fouch6 became 
Due d'Otrante. His comment on this 
was, "a pretty good prize in the im- 
perial lottery." 

Later the new pi^ince had the 
effrontery to mention the subject of 
divorce to Josephine before the Em- 
peroii had even matured his project of 
a royal marriage. This event pro- 
cured him a well-merited withdrawal 
of N.'s confidence. He again resumed 
his plotting, and during one absence 
of the Emperor "conferred" with 
Talleyrand and. Sit is said, with Murat. 
N. heard of this, and would have 
punished him severely, but the wily 
minister was a past master at hiding 
his traces. Whilst N. was in Austria 
it was by Fouche's efforts that Bel- 
gium was saved from the threatened 
Eng^lish invasion, yet the words of his 
manifesto when he took upon himself 
to call out a levy of the National 
Guards did not commend themselves 
to the Emperor, the veiled insolence 
was not hard to detect, and his long- 
held suspicion revived that Fouche 
was the head of a party working in 
secret, which only waited for some 
reverse to the imperial fortunes to 
establish' a republican government. 
His dismissal was now decided upon, 
and further pretext soon occurred. As 
always, Fouch6 again forestalled N. 
Both had conceived the idea of peace 
with England, and both at the same 
time dispatched their secret emissaries 
to sound the English Government. M. 
Labouch^re was the Emperor's agent, 
Fouche's was the contractor Ouvrard. 
As neither of these were aware of each 
other's mission the proposals for a 
basis of pacification w^ere sufficiently 
diverse. This gave rise to suspicion, 
and the Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs, the Marquis Wellesley, broke 
off all negotiations. At this insolent 
tampering with the imperial preroga- 
tive N. was enraged, and sending for 
Fouch^ made him disclose his misdeeds 



FOUCHE 

in full council. Ouvrard, his agent," 
was thrown into the prison of Vin- 
cennes, Fouche was deprived of office 
though not publicly disgraced. "I 
know," wrote the Emperor, "the many 
services you have rendered me . . . 
nevertheless, it is impossible for me 
without loss of self-respect to leave 
you in possession of your office." The 
deposed Minister of Police was given 
the governorship of Rome, but before 
his departure he was commanded to 
deliver up the confidential correspond- 
ence that had passed between the 
Emperor and himself. He returned a 
lame excuse — that the papers had been 
burned. N. was furious, and Fouche 
had to fly. Essentially a coward when 
personal danger threatened, with much 
whining he reached Italy, where he 
was befriended by Elisa (q.v.), the 
sister of N. She it was who finally 
arranged a compromise, obtaining 
for Fouch^ an indemnity for all his 
acts during his ministerial career, and 
permission to return to France on the 
condition of his surrender of the 
papers in question. He again came 
into touch with N., and later tried to 
dissuade him from enteriing upon the 
Russian campaign, but his influence 
was gone. 

After N.'s return from Russia, hav- 
ing heard of Fouch6's plotting, he 
called him to Dresden, whence he was 
sent to Naples, away from possible 
intrigues at Paris. But he was in 
close touch with events, and was soon 
busy in all directions with a view of 
employment in either a Republican or 
a Royalist Government. After the first 
abdication of N. he returned to Paris, 
and was at the head of the deputation 
which received the Comte d'Artois. 
A man with his knowledge was in- 
valuable, and Louis XVHL made use 
of him in consultation, but the post 
that Fouch^ coveted, that of Minister 
of Police, was not given him. Further 
to commend himself to the Bour- 
bons he wrote an insolent letter to 
N. at Elba, in which he advised him, 
in order to avoid being the possible 
centre of disquieting intrigue, to retire 
as a private citizen to the United 
States. Fouche was careful that a 
copy of this letter should reach the 
King, but it ser\'ed no purpose. Find- 



189 



FOUCHE 

ing- affairs profitless under this regime, 
he now set about overthrowing the 
Bourbons, even g-etting so far as offer- 
ing- the dictatorship to Eug'^ne Beau- 
harnais (q-'v.), but received no en- 
courag^ement from that quarter. 

When news reached Paris of N.'s 
landing- in France, the King's brother 
now sent for Fouche to a midnight in- 
terview, offering him in return the 
coveted Ministry of Police. This he 
refused, knowing how events were 
shaping, but dissimulated so well, or 
very likely was still waiting to see 
which side would win, that he said, 
"Take measures to save the King, 
and I take upon me to save the 
monarchy ! " 

However, an old pensioner and spy 
of his, De Bourrienne, now Prefect of 
Police, knew himi well and prepared to 
seize him, but Fouche escaped into a 
neighbouring garden, and in his hurry 
had not noticed it belonged to Queen 
Hortense (q.v.). Finding himself in 
the centre of the Bonapartists, he 
evidently decided on joining them. 

During the Hundred Days Fouche 
was again Minister of Police. His 
treachery and intrigue in this period 
is unsurpassed. In private he plotted 
with the Revolutionists ; he was in 
communication with the minister of 
Louis XVni. at Ghent ; he was in 
constant coirrespondence with Metter- 
nich as tO' the best means of subverting 
the existing government, and, worst 
of all, he gave secret information of 
N.'s military projects tO' the Duke of 
Wellington. According to one 

authority : " He sent the plan of the 
Emperor's campaign, written in 
cipher, by a Flemish post-mistress, but 
caused her to be arrested on the Bel- 
gian frontier that it might not reach 
its destination before the fate of the 
campaign was decided." 

N. discovered his intrigues with 
Metternich, but his services were so 
needed at that time and the rush of 
events so swift that he spared Fouche 
again, only at the last to be misled by 
his deceitful advice, for all the time 
Fouch6 was running toi and from the 
Allies, in special favour with the Duke 
of Wellington. This Talleyrand (q.v.) 
ascribed to the fact that the latter was 
extremely anxious to be the first to 



FOX 

enter Paris. So well were the plans 
of Fouche laid that he was the head 
of the provisional government after 
the second abdication, and in this 
capacity sent that insulting answer to 
N.'s request — that he might as a 
simple general defend the capital 
against the Allies^ — ^an answer which 
said that the government could no 
longer be responsible for "peti- 
tioner's " safety. 

After the second Restoration his 
services of necessity demanded some 
reward, and he was summoned to the 
Councils, only, however, for three 
months. His former exploits as 
regicide and terrorist were neither for- 
gotten nor forgiven, and feeling this 
he resigned his post, and for consola- 
tion was made ambassador to the court 
of Saxony. In Jan. 1816 he was', de- 
nounced as a regicide in both 
Chambers, and condemned to death in 
the event of his return to French 
territory. He now became a naturalized 
Austrian, settling finally at Trieste, 
and died four years later on Christ- 
mas Day, 1820, leaving an immense 
fortune, the goodly harvest gathered 
as Minister of Police. Though only 
sixty-one at death, for a long time 
previously he had the appearance of 
extreme old age owing tO) his life of 
excitement and mental overwork. 

Fox, Charles James (1749-1806). 
— British statesman and orator, third 
son of the first Lord Holland ; was 
born in London on 24 Jan. 1749. He 
was educated at Eton and Oxford, and 
at the age of nineteen entered Parlia- 
ment for Midhurst, obtaining not long- 
afterwards a place in the Cabinet. In 
1774, after a quarrel with Lord North, 
the Premier, he went over to the 
opposition ; and in opposition he 
remained, curiously enough, through- 
out the greater part of his career. In 
1782, when Lord North's Government 
collapsed. Fox became Secretary of 
State under Rockingham, but, on the 
latter's death and the consequent 
appointment of Shelburne to the 
premiership, he resigned and formed 
a coalition with Lord North {1783). 
So strong was the coalition that the 
ministry was forced to resign. A new 
ministry was formed under the Duke 
of Portland, whereupon Fox resumed 



190 



FOY 

his place in the Cabinet. But after the 
rejection of his India Bill the ministry 
had ag"ain to resign. Notwiithstand- 
ing- that he was out of office, Fox 
found in the French Revolution, the 
trial of Warren Hastings, the abolition 
of the slave-trade, and various liberal 
measures plenty of scope for the exer- 
cise of his statesmanship and unique 
skill in debate. 

From the first he advocated non- 
intervention in the Napoleonic wars, 
and in his last years made strenuous 
endeavours for peace. After the death 
of his great rival, Pitt, in 1806, he 
opened up peace negotiations with 
France. He had no great admiration 
for N., but when a Frenchman came 
to hlim with a plot to assassinate the 
Emperor he at once communicated the 
matter to Talleyrand. Thus was the 
w-ay opened up for Britain to treat with 
France. However, the negotiations 
fell through; Fox refused to agree to 
a peace which would not include his 
country's ally Russia; nor would he 
give up Sicily, which was the price 
N. demanded. On 13 Sept. 1806, 
when he was about to br'ing in a Bill 
for the abolition of slavery, Fox died at 
Chiswick. 

Foy,IVIaximilienSebastien(1775- 
1825). — French general under N. ; 
was born at Ham in Picardy on 3 Feb. 
1775. At the age of sixteen he entered 
the army, and as early as 1800 he 
was promoted to adjutant-general. 
From 1808 onwards he served in. the 
Peninsular War. N. met him in 1810, 
and was so impressed with his abiilities 
that — notwithstanding the fact that 
Foy was known to have oppoised his 
assumption of the imperial title — he 
made him general of division. During 
the Hundred Days he again attached 
himself to N., being wounded at 
Waterloo. This ended his brilliant 
military career; in 181 9 he was elected 
to the chamber of deputies, where his 
enlightened advocacy of Liberal views 
won him muchi respect. He wrote an 
Histoire de la Guerre de la Peninsula 
sous Napoleon. 

Fraeronard, Alexandre Evariste 
(1780-1850).— French portrait painter. 
See Portraits of Napoleon. 

Francis II. (1768-1835).— The last 
Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 



FRANCIS 

and first Emperor of Austria, as 
Francis I. ; was the son of Leopold H., 
Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was born 
at Floirence, and when sixteen was sent 
to Vienna under the care of his uncle, 
the Emperor Joseph H. A natural 
reserve at first rather retarded his 
progress and influence at court. In 
1788 he married Elizabeth of Wiirt- 
temburg. The death of his uncle, 
which was followed by that of his wife, 
necessitated his acting as regent along 
with Kaunitz until his father's arrival 
from Florence. Some seven months 
after his first wife's death he espoused 
Maria Theresa, daughter of Ferdi- 
nand, King of Naples, by whom he 
had a family of three: Ferdinand I., 
his successor; Maria Louisa, wife of 
N. ; and the Archduke Francis, father 
of the Emperor Francis Joseph. On 
her death in 1807 he married Maria of 
Este; and he made a fourth marriage 
with Caroline Augusta of Bavaria in 
1816. He succeeded to the Austrian 
crown on the death of his father on 
I March 1792, when he was only 
twenty-four years of age. At his 
accession Austrian territory was far- 
flung but widely scattered over half 
Europe, and by its isolated position 
was open to foreign attack. It was 
inevitable that he should be forced 
into every coalition against France, 
and the ambitions of Prussia and 
Russia hampered his powers of action 
considerably. But he was patient, and 
relied greatly on the loyalty of his 
subjects, to whom he had a strong 
sense of duty. Not long after he came 
to the throne the Austrian Empire 
seemed toi be threatened with dissolu- 
tion, or at all events the Hapsburg 
grip upon it seemed very feeble. In 
1806 the establishment of the Con- 
federation of the Rhine forced him to 
abdicate the title of Holy Roman 
Emperor, but he had at least the 
secondary title of Emperor of Austria 
to fall back upon — a title which he had 
assumed in 1804. In 1805 he revolu- 
tionized the working of his administra- 
tion. His chancelleries had so far been 
under the direction of a cabinet 
minister, who accounted to him for all 
administration. At the time alluded to 
N. demanded the removal of Count 
Colloredo, who held this position, and 



191 



FRANCIS 

from, that time onward the Emperor 
acted as his own chancellor, super- 
intending" the various departments 
with unflag-ging" zeal, except that of 
foreign affairs, which after i8og he 
left in the full charge of Prince Metter- 
nich, who was wont to say at the close 
of his career that although he had 
sometimes held Europe in the palm of 
his hand, he had never held Austria, 
By the marriage of his daughter, 
Maria Louisa, to N. in 1810, he 
gained a breathing space by which, he 
profited greatly, and thus in 181 3 he 
was enabled to intervene decisively. 
The general settlement in 18 15 found 
Austria stronger than she had been 
before the French Revolution, and this 
was in great measure due to the 
patience and loyalty of her Emperor. 
Francis strenuously combated the 
revolutionary trend of European 
politics, and he must be regarded as a 
strong conservative and reactionary. 
But he is not to be held responsible 
for the political severities whichi were 
directed against so many individuals 
during his reign. He was denounced 
throughout Europe as a tyrant, but he 
was always popular among the Aus- 
trian- people, and if blinded by heredi- 
tary and traditional methods, he was 
certainly well-meaning and desired the 
good of his people, whom in a large 
measure he regarded as children, to 
be treated as such. He was a firm 
believer in the God-given powers of 
kingship, and these he would delegate 
to no one. The result was that the 
Austrian administration depended 
entirely upon the industry and activity 
of one man, and therefore could not 
keep step with the development and 
advancement of the nation as a whole. 
Later in life the channels of govern- 
ment in Austria became choked, and 
Francis's successor, who had not his 
administrative ability or capacity for 
work, permitted the machine almost to 
break down. 

Regarding Francis's relations with 
N., these were, of course, almost 
purely of an opportunist character. It 
has been said that his goodw!ilI towards 
N. was an audacious fiction. Although 
forced to give his daughter to N., he 
•was in hopes, as was Metternich, that 
Maria Louisa might play upon such 



FRANKFORT 

weakness as the French Emperor had 
and thus render great services to 
Austria. These hopes were destined to 
disappointment, but the marriage was 
not without its gains to Austria. In 
the end Francis may not have treated 
his son-iin-law generously, but it must 
be borne in mind that the descendant 
of one of the oldest governing houses 
in Europe could not have regarded 
such a son-in-law with equanimity had 
he not been forced to do so, and it is 
probable that any other monarch in the 
place of Francis would have acted in 
the same manner. 

Frankfort, Diet of. — The Diet 
of Frankfort was convoked in 1806 
to deal with the affairs of the Con- 
federation of the Rhine. It was 
composed of a College of Kings, 
comprising the Kings of Bavaria and 
Wiirttemburg, and the Grand Dukes 
of Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and 
Berg, presided over by Dalberg, 
prince primate ; and a College of 
Princes, comprising nine minor mem- 
bers of the Confederation, presided 
over by the Duke of Nassau. Lesser 
dignitaries excluded from the Diet 
lost their sovereign rights, but re- 
tained possession of their territories, 
which were incorporated with one or 
other of the states represented at the 
Diet. Various alterations of frontier 
were made, and N. was declared pro- 
tector of the Confederation, which 
also entered into an alliance with 
France, engaging to supply a con- 
tingent of 63,000 men. 

Frankfort Proposals, The 
(Adopted on ,9 Nov, 1813).— After the 
defeat of N. at Leipsic, and the coinr 
sequent freeing of Germany from the 
French invader, a short period of rest 
ensued, while the monarchs of the 
Allies halted at Frankfort to consider 
the situation and discuss their varied 
interests. As the result of their de- 
liberations overtures were sent to their 
beaten enemy, which included the fol- 
lowing propositions : (i) France was to 
have "natural" boundaries, that is the 
Rhine, Alps, Pyrenees and the ocean 
— of her conquered territories she was 
only to retain Belgium, Savoy and 
Nice; (2) Austria was to have part of 
Italy ; (3) the rest of Italy was to be 
independent; (4) Holland and Spain 



192 



FREDERiKSHAMN 

were to be freed ; (5) Britain was to 
retain her maritime rig-hts, and would 
hand back the conquered French 
colonies. N. did not g'ive a definite 
answer, and by the time he had de- 
cided to accept the AUies had with- 
drawn their proposals. 

Frederikshamn, Treaty of. — 
This treaty was concluded between 
Russia and Sweden on 17 Sept. 1809. 
Its most notable provision was the 
cession of Finland to Russia. 

Frdron, Louis Marie Stanislas 
(1754-1802).— Wasi born at Paris on 
17 Aug-. 1754, the son of the cele- 
brated critic and journalist and editor 
of L'Ann6e Littiraire who had the 
temerity to attack Voltaire and the 
Encyclopaedists. Voltaire, however, 
retorted in full measure, introducing" 
him into his trag^edies, also writing 
a violent satire, Le pauvre diable, on 
him, and ag'ain making" him the chief 
character in a comedy, I'Ecossais, 
designating- his journal L'Ane Lit- 
teraire. Fr6ron junior had for god- 
father King Stanislaus of Poland. 
L' Annie Litteraire continued its exist- 
ence till 1790, and on his father's 
death in 1776 it was carried on in the 
son's name, though it was edited suc- 
cessively by the Abbes G. M. Royon 
and J. L. Geoffroy. Fr^ron had been 
a schoolfellow of Robespierre and 
Camille Desmoulins, accordingly he 
was a sympathetic and devoted ad- 
herent of the Revolutionary cause. 
In its interests he established the 
violent journal L'Orateur du Peuple. 
In 1793 he, with Barras, was commis- 
sioned by the Convention to establish 
their authority at Marseilles and 
Toulon, places where he earned an 
imenviable reputation for his atrocious 
reprisals. Both he and Barras after- 
wards joined the Thermidoreans ; and, 
as he was founder of the jeunesse doree 
and made his paper the organ of the 
Thermidorean reaction, he came to be 
looked upon as the leader of the move- 
ment. It was Fr^ron who brought 
aibout the accusation of Fouquier-Tin- 
ville and of Carrier, the deportation of 
Bar6re and the arrest of the few remain- 
ing Montagu ards. The Directory sent 
him in 1796 to Marseilles on a very 
different mission from his last, that of 
peace. This same year he published 



FUENTES 

M6moire historique sur la reaction 
royale et sur les nialheurs du tnidi. 
It was at this time he met and fell in 
love with Pauline Bonaparte (q-v.), a 
most passionate affair, but neither N. 
nor his mother approved, and Fr^ron 
was dismissed. He was elected to the 
Council of Five Hundred, but was not 
allowed to take his seat. In 1799 he 
was appointed commissioner to San 
Domingo, accompanying Pauline 
Bonaparte and her husband. General 
Leclerc, who was taking charge of the 
military affairs of the island, on their 
voyage out. Freron and Leclerc both 
died in the same year from the effects 
of the climate. Fr6ron's papers fell 
into the hands of the natives, and by 
the authority of Dessalines {q.v.) a 
great number of them were published 
in an appendix to a work entitled 
MSmoires pour servir a VHistoire 
d'Hayti. Among the letters were 
those written to Freron by Pauline 
Bonaparte. 

Friedland, Battle of. — Began 
about 2 a.m. on the morning of 14 
June 1807 with an advance-guard 
action between a French corps under 
Lannes and the Russians under Ben- 
nigsen, who were crossing the river 
and taking up a position west of 
Friedland. This fighting was inde- 
cisive, and the Russians continued to 
pour across. About noon N. arrived 
with 40,000 men and took command. 
At 5 o'clock the French attacked, and 
soon the Russians, in a death-trap, 
were mown down by the French 
artillery. From all sides the beaten 
troops were pursued into the town and 
across the river. The Russian losses 
were very heavy — about 10,000 out of 
46,000, while the French lost 12,000 
out of 86,000. 

Fuentes d'Onoro, Battle of.— 
An incident of the Peninsular War, 
fought on 5 May i8ii. Th-e French, 
under Mass^na, to the number of 
45,000 men and 36 gfuns attacked 
Wellington with 33,000 men and 42 
guns, in an attempt to relieve Almeida, 
but though the British right was 
turned and broken through, they were 
not successful. The British lost 1,200 
killed and wounded and 300 prisoners ; 
and the French losses were consider- 
ably heavier, about 3,000. Night put 



193 



FULTON 

an end to the battle, and neither side 
could claim any decided advantage, 
for though the French did not succeed 
in their purpose, the British lost 
ground on all points, and were nearer 
experiencing a defeat than in any 
other action in Spain. 

Fulton, Robert (1765 - 1815).— 
American engineer and inventor. In 
1804 he submitted his steamship inven- 
tion to N., who, however, had recently 
been unsuccessful in regard to other 
discoveries, so refused his patronage, 
and referred the inventor to the 
savants of the Institute. These re- 
ported that the idea was chimerical 
and of no practical value. It is also 
of topical interest that Fulton in- 
vented a submarine, the first trials of 
which were made on the Seine under 
the personal supervision of N., who 
took much interest in the scheme, see- 
ing in it a means of curbing the power 
of the British Navy. The craft, which 
was named the Nautilus, was of 
wood, sheathed in copper, and was 
capable of being submerged at a depth 
of 25 feet for four hours. A torpedo 
could be attached to the hull of an 
enemy vessel, and compressed air was 
provided for the crew. Although the 
experiments in connexion with the 
submersible were entirely successful, 
the French naval officer of the day 
was strongly opposed to its use, and 
the scheme was abandoned, un- 
doubtedly to the detriment of the 
French Navy and its imperial master. 

Funerals of Napoleon. — First 
Funeral at St. Helena. — At the hour 
of the Emperor's passing a mighty 
tempest swept over St. Helena, blow- 
ing down, by a curious chance, some 
graceful trees which the imperial cap- 
tive had specially loved. Many of 
those who witnessed) his end, which 
occurred at 6 o'clock in the evening 
of 5 May 1821, betrayed signs of deep 
emotion, while others, in their eager- 
ness to possess relics of N., seized 
upon the sheets in which he had lain 
during his fatal illness. The news of 
his death was noised abroad in the 
island, whose inhabitants came in 
great numbers to see the corpse, 
where it lay in state at Longwood, the 
hero's sword reposing at his left side, 
his body wrapped in the blue cloak 



FUNERALS 

which he had worn at Marengo, and a 
crucifix placed on his breast. N.'s 
coffin, which was made of zinc lined 
with white satin, contained sundry 
specimens of French Exnpire coinage, 
some eagles, and a plate engraved 
with his arms ; while the cocked hat 
which the Emperor had worn in the 
days of his military splendour was 
placejd at the feet of the corpse. 
Thereafter the zinc coffin was fixed in 
a case of mahogany, which, in turn, 
was placed in a lead shell, and this 
again was finally enclosed in a 
fourth coffin made of mahogany, inlaid 
with ebony, and having silver head- 
screws. Meanwhile, the papers of the 
Emperor were being scrutinized, and 
there was found among them a docu- 
ment in which he had expressed a 
hope that he would be buried "on the 
banks of the Seine, in the midst of the 
French people he had loved so well." 
But this desire the authorities of St. 
Helena did not intend to gratify ; and 
they decided to inter him at a place 
not very far from Longwood, known 
as Slane's Valley. A sparkling little 
fountain rises here — a fountain from 
which N.'s servants used to brinig 
water for use at his house — while he 
himself had loved the spot. He had 
made an al fresco breakfast there on 
many a sunny morning ; and he had 
sometimes been heard to say that, if 
he must needs be buried within the 
island of his captivity, this woodland 
glen was the resting-place he would 
choose. 

It was not altogether without diefer- 
ence to his wishes, then, that Slane's 
Valley was selected for the Emperor's 
grave ; while on the advent of 8 May, 
the day chosen for the interment, it 
soon transpired that abundant honours 
were to be paid to his memory. About 
noon the governor of St. Helena, 
along with other officials, made their 
appearance at Longwood ; and, after 
a brief religious service had been held, 
a body of Grenadiers carried forth the 
coffin — ^wrapped in hangings of purple 
velvet, symbolic of royal mourning — 
and placed it on a stately hearse, 
drawn by four horses. Prior to this 
the road leading to the burial ground 
had been lined with a guard of honour, 
among the regiments composing it 



194 



FUNERALS 

being the Royal Artillery and the St. 
Helena Volunteers ; while since early 
morning crowds had been gathering 
all along the route, and a motley spec- 
tacle they formed. If English people 
predominated, there were many 
French also, and it was among the 
ranks of the latter, naturally, that the 
signs of deepest feeling were mani- 
fested ; but the Brazilians and Lascars, 
the Chinese and Africans, all seemed 
to realize the mighty significance of 
the event, and they gazed spellbound 
as the cortdge passed along, bands 
playing solemn music the while. The 
procession was headed by young 
Napoleon Bertrand and the Abb^ 
Vignali, the latter sprinkling holy 
water from time to time ; while after 
these walked Arnott and Antom- 
marchi, and behind them came the 
hearse itself, the horses being led by 
grooms. On either side of the hearse 
marched a contingent of Grenadiers, 
and these were followed by Counts 
Bertrand and Montholon on horse- 
back ; while behind them, seated in 
a calash drawn by two horses, came 
Mme. Bertrand, who seemed to be 
quite overwhelmed with grief, and 
who was accompanied by her 
daughter Hortense. Next came a 
war-horse — the steed which of old had 
borne N. to battle, and which was led 
now by Archambaud, sometime 
equerry to the deceased ; while after 
these paced a group of British officers, 
some belonging to the Army, others to 
the Marines. They were followed by 
certain members of the council of the 
island of St. Helena, and behind them 
rode General Coffin and the Marquis 
Montchenu, while Sir Hudson Lowe, 
also on horseback, himself (brought 
up the rear. 

Although not very far from Long- 
wood, Slane's Valley is of the nature 
of a mountain fastness ; and thus, on 
the funeral procession nearing the 
place, it was found advisable to lift 
the coffin from the hearse, giving it 
into the hands of the accompanying 
Grenadiers. These carried it the last 
few steps of the way, and then a re- 
sounding salute having been fired by 
fifteen pieces of artillery, stationed 
along the road, the body of the Em- 
peror Napoleon was consigned to the 



FUNERALS 

tomb. It is encircled by beautiful 
trees — pines, firs, cypresses — and 
hard by is a sentry-box on which 
hangs an unobtrusive notice-board, 
stating that the grave and its imme- 
diate surroundings are not the pro- 
perty of Great Britain, but of the 
French Republic ; while an attendant 
drowses daily in this sentry-box, duly 
supplied with that prosaic thing, a 
visitors' book, for the benefit of pil- 
grims at the shrine. These come but 
seldom, however; for the fates had 
willed that the last wish of "the 
world-demanding Tamberlane " should 
be gratified, and, nineteen years after 
his interment at St. Helena, his body 
was exhumed, to be borne in state to 
a fitter resting-place "on the banks of 
the Seine, in the midst of the French 
people he had loved so well." 

Second Funeral in Paris. — 'During 
many months the project of removing 
N.'s coffin from St. Helena was dis- 
cussed in Paris, and at length, in the 
summer of 1840, Francois Guizot, then 
French ambassador in London, waited 
upon the British foreign secretary, 
Lord Palmerston, asking him whether 
Britain would be willing to part with 
the coveted relic. Many English 
people were deeply touched by the re- 
quest, which was speedily granted 
accordingly ; and meanwhile further 
discussions were going forward in 
France, the point at issue being where 
the Emperor's coffin should be laid. 
Some people suggested the Madeleine, 
some advocated the foot of that great 
column in the Place Venddme, which 
had been cast from cannon taken in 
Bonaparte's victories ; eventually, 
however, it was decided that the 
Hotel des Invalides was by far the 
most suitable place, for here N. might 
sleep, as a French writer of the time 
observed, " sous les lambeaux cribles 
des drapeaux cueillis chez toutes les 
nations." 

This momentous decision havings 
been taken, two French battleships, 
the Belle Poule and La Favorite, set 
sail from Toulon for St. Helena, their 
going forth being heralded by much 
firing of salutes. The expedition was 
commanded by the Prince de Joinville, 
who had with him. many men who 
had been associated with N. — Emanuel 



19s 



FUNERALS 

ias Cases, for instance, the two Ber- 
trands, Gourg-aud, Marchand, Denis, 
Fierret, and Novaret ; and after an 
uneventful voyag-e the ships arrived at 
their desired haven, where in a Httle 
while de Joinville and his henchmen 
were being entertained cordially by the 
governor of the island, who had re- 
ceived orders from Lord Palmerston in 
the interim to see that everything the 
French party desired was duly carried 
out. Accordingly on 15 Oct. 1840, the 
.exhumation was begun. It was con- 
ducted at dead of night, while all 
available pomp and splendour were 
marshalled alike by the English and 
the French. When the innermost of the 
various cofhns had been opened, and 
it was found that the clothes and even 
the face of the departed were still vir- 
tually intact and recognisable, several 
of the French onlookers could not re- 
frain from bursting into tears. 

The coffin having been placed on a 
funeral car, gorgeously draped, this 
was drawn to the harbour by artillery 
horses ; and, when the precious bur- 
den was safely on board the Belle 
Poule, the Abb6 Coqueroan came for- 
ward to enact a brief religrious cere- 
mony. Thereafter, with much firing of 
salutes, the frigate set sail from St. 
Helena, and early in Dec. it reached 
the port of Cherbourg, whose mayor, 
eager to testify his own enthusiasm 
and that of his townsfolk, straightway 
visited the ship, placing a gold laurel 
branch on the coffin. This act was 
accompanied by the firing of many 
more salutes, the guns of the port 
lending their aid to those of the 
Belle Poule, which now left Cher- 
bourg for Havre, the coffin being con- 
veyed thence by a river steamer to 
Neuilly. Intense excitement prevailed 
there when the Emperor's remains 
were brought ashore, while for some 
time past equally great excitement had 
been reigning in Paris, whose citizens 
were now busily employed in making 
preparations for the imminent proces- 
sion ; and street after street was elabo- 
rately garnished, especial ingenuity 
being lavished on the Champs Elys^es. 
Here a very regiment of plaster statues 
was erected, each representing a god- 
dess ; while these were supplemented 
by other decorations of a more martial 



FUNERALS 

order, consisting in great pillars bear- 
ing bucklers, these in their turn being 
blazoned with the names of N.'s great 
victories. Nor was this all, for a host 
of pedestals supported effigies of 
eagles ; and it was observed that all 
those on one side of the street were 
placed so as to look in the direction 
whence the procession was to come, 
while those on the left gazed towards 
the H6tel des Invalides. 

The great ceremony took place on 
15 Dec. 1840, and early that morning 
the streets of Paris were throng^ed, 
people having come from far and 
near. Numerous English people, too, 
came to Paris to witness the sight, 
among them being Thackeray. Keener 
and keener grew the enthusiasm 
among the crowd when it was 
rumoured that the procession was 
about to appear, while deafening- 
cheering rent the air when hopes were 
at length realized, and many a shout 
of "Vive I'Empereur " was sent up by 
old soldiers. The gendarmerie of the 
Seine came first, their trumpeters re- 
peatedly sounding a rousing fanfare ; 
after these marched the municipal 
guard, who were followed in turn by 
two squadrons of lancers ; and behinc^ 
these were further warriors, behind 
whom again was a riderless charger, 
bearing the saddle and bridle which 
the Emperor had used of old, and 
likewise caparisoned with a hanging of 
violet crape. Next came more soldiers, 
together with banners representative 
of the eighty-six departments of 
France ; while in the rear of these was 
the Prince de Joinville, followed by 
the sacred car bearing" the imperial 
coffin, the pall of which was held by 
two marshals, an admiral, and General 
Bertrand. On either side of the car 
marched sailors, the men chosen for 
this office being those who had sailed 
to St. Helena with the Belle Poule; 
while behind the car came the prefects 
of the Seine, along with a final and 
vast contingent of soldiers, prominent 
among them being the "Old Guard," 
or, at least, what remained of that 
doughty body. 

While this great cortege was wend- 
ing its way through the streets, pre- 
parations for receiving the coffin were 
going forward at the H6tel des In- 



196 



GANTHAUME 

valides, already crowded with people 
fortunate enough to have procured 
seats. Some ten thousand candles 
were lit within the building", dark cur- 
tains being hung over the windows to 
obscure the light of day ; and early in 
the afternoon the procession ulti- 
mately reached its destination, its 
arrival being acclaimed, first by salutes 
from a park of artillery stationed out- 
side, then by solemn music played by 
a huge orchestra, conducted by Habe- 
neck. Soon, however, the instru- 
mentalists received the signal to cease ; 
and now, an almost awesome silence 
reigning, the aged King, Louis 
Philippe, came forward to where the 
coffin was to be placed. " Sire, I bring 
you the body of the Emperor Napo- 
leon," said the Prince de Joinville, 
advancing and paying obeisance to his 
Majesty, who replied in simple yet 
stately and appropriate fashion, " I re- 
ceive it in the name of France." A 
moment later, and all was over, so 
skilfully had the plans for lowering the 
coffin been laid ; and thereupon solemn 
music arose again, while the vast con- 
course began to disperse. 

Thus was enacted the second funeral 
of N., a significant event whereon 
historians of the Emperor's doings are 
strangely silent, most of them dismiss- 
ing the affair in a few words, many 
of them forgetting to say anything 
about it at all. And so Napoleon 
sleeps in the place which, in the kind- 
ness of his heart, he had designed as 
an asylum for his veterans. 



G 



Ganthaume, Honore Joseph 

Antolne^1755-1818f.— French admiral ; 
was born at La Ciotat, department 
Bouches du Rh6ne, and entered the 
navy in 1781. He saw service in the 
American War and later in the Chinese 
seas, where he was made prisoner by 
the English. He was wounded in the 
action fought by Villaret-Joyeuse 
against Howe, and in 1798 he took 
part in the Egyptian expedition, sail- 
ing in I'Ortent as chief of the staff. 
He was wounded at Aboukir, fought 
at Jaffa and St. Jean d'Acre, was pro- 
moted rear-admiral, and brought N. 



GENUS 

back to France in the Muiron. In 
1800 he was made a Counsellor of 
State, vice-admiral in 1804, and count 
in 1 810, having commanded the Medi- 
terranean squadron in the previous 
year. He transferred his allegiance 
to the Bourbons in 1814, remained 
faithful to them during the Hundred 
Days, and was rewarded by being 
made a peer of France, 

Gaudin, M. M. O. (1766-1841).— A 
great financier of the Consulate and 
Empire; was born in: June 1756, and 
served as a treasury official from 1779 
to 1795- ^6 came under the notice 
of N. through the introduction of 
S'leyhs, and was at once appointed 
minister of finance, a portfolio which 
he held until 1814 and again during 
the Hundred Days. In 1809 he was 
created Due de Gaeta. He placed the 
finances of the country {which hadibeen 
greatly prejudiced and even almost 
ruined during the Directory) on a 
proper basis, founded the Bank of 
France, and promoted the "grand 
cadastre" (q.v.) of France. He was 
silent and reserved, but possessed real 
financial genius and insight, great 
tact and presence of mind. He died 
in 1841 at the age of eighty-five. 

Gebora, Battle of (PenfnsularWap). 
— Early on the morning of ig Feb. 
181 1 a small French force, from the 
besiegers of Badajos, under Mortier, 
crossed the Gebora and inflicted a 
severe defeat on the Spaniards under 
Mendizabel, who had occupied an in- 
secure position. The latter's losses 
were heavy, including 3,000 who were 
shut up in Badajos with the garrison. 

Genlis, St6phani6-Felicit6 Du 
crest de Sainte-Aubin, Comtesse 
de (1746-1830).— French writer and 
gouvernante ; was born of a noble but 
impoverished Burgundian family at 
Champc^ry, near Autun, on 25 Jan. 
1746. At six years of age she was 
received as a canoness into the noble 
chapter of Alix, near Lyons, with the 
title of Mme. la Comtesse de Lancy. 
The child early displayed a desire to 
learn, but her mother took no pains 
about her education, her only interest 
was to see her daughter act in the 
private theatricals so much the rage 
towards the end of the eighteenth 
century. Yet the child persevered. 



197 



QENLI8 

and in her anxiety to learn devoured 
any and every book. At the age of 
eleven she read Gresset's "Vert- 
Vert " and other books hardly suited 
to her years. She also devoted her- 
self to music, spending eight or nine 
hours a day at the harp, with the result 
that she became a brilliant performer. 
This latter accomplishment, together 
with her beauty, vivacity, and wit, 
btx>ught her into notice and made her 
somewhat of a personage in Pai'is 
society. Several suitors offered them- 
selves, but at the age of sixteen she 
married Charles Brulart de Genlis, a 
colonel of Grenadiers. Her husband, 
however, does not seem to have counted 
for much in her life, and despite her 
marriage, she determined to carry on 
her education and satisfy her desire 
for knowledge. In 1770, through the 
influence of her aunt, clandestinely 
married to the Duke of Orleans, Mme. 
de Genlis entered the Palais-Royal as 
lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of 
Chartres, also acting as governess to 
the dtaughters of the family. The one 
who influenced her career the most 
was the Duke of Orleans, whose mis- 
tress she became, and who made her 
** governor " to his children, the eldest 
of whom was Louis Philippe, the 
future King of the French. This step 
of appointing Mme. de Genlis as 
gouvernour led to the resignation of 
all the tutors employed in the educa- 
tion of the family, also to much social 
scandal. The young people's educa- 
tion did not suffer, however. To carry 
out her theories of education she 
wrote several works for the use of her 
pupils, amongst others the Thddtre 
d'Education (1779), short comedies for 
the young ; Les annates de la vertu 
(1781); and AdMe et ThSodore (1782). 
When in 1789 the Revolution broke 
out she showed herself in favour of the 
democratic cause, but with the fall of 
the Girondins she fled to Switzerland 
for refuge. Her husband. Marquis de 
Sillery, from whom she had been sepa- 
rated since 1782, was executed that 
year. About this time her unacknow- 
ledged but " adopted " daughter 
Pamela, for whom Sheridan conceived 
a passion, was married to Lord 
Edward Fitzgerald. 

Mme. de Genlis had taken up her 



GEOFFROY 

residence in 1794 in Berlin, but was 
expelled by order of King Frederick 
William. Afterwards she settled in 
Hamburg, and supported herself by 
writing and painting. She returned 
to France after the revolution of 
18 Brumaire (1799), and was received 
by N. with flattering attentions. He 
gave her apartments at the arsenal and 
assigned her a pension of 6,000 francs. 
She now devoted herself to writing, 
and besides historical novels, produced 
her best romance Mademoiselle de 
Clermont (1802). Her old pupil Louis 
Philippe allowed her a small pension, 
but this was discontinued by 
Louis XVHL, and again she bad 
to support herself by her pen. On the 
Restoration nearly every English 
visitor to Paris sought out Mme. de 
Genlis. There are several references 
to her in Moore's Diary, he having 
made her acquaintance in 1821. In 
1822 she published Diners du Baron 
d'Holbach, in which, Avith sarcasm and 
satirical pungency, she set forth the 
fanaticism, intolerance and eccen- 
tricities of the philosophes of the 
eighteenth century. This provoked, 
naturally, much bad feeling, and the 
resultant literary quarrels occupied her 
later years. She lived until 1830, and 
saw her former pupil, Louis Philippe, 
on the throne, thus having witnessed 
in her life the Ancien RSgime, the 
Revolution, the Empire, the Restora- 
tion, and last the July Monarchy. 

Qenoa, Siege of.— This city was 
besieged by the Austrians and 
blockaded from the sea by the British 
Fleet from 5 April to 4 June 1800. It 
was garrisoned by a French force 
under Mass^na, but owing to scarcity 
of provisions he was forced to capitu- 
late, the garrison marching out with- 
out laying down their arms. The 
sufferings of the inhabitants during 
this dreadful siege wtere terrible, 
nearly 20,000 perishing of famine or 
disease. 

Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, Etienne 
(1772-1844').— French naturalist; was 
a native of Etampes. He studied law, 
and took his degree in 1790 to please 
his father, but attended the lectures of 
Fourcroy and Daubenton on medidine 
at Pariis. His gift for natural science 
caused him to turn his thoughts 



198 



GEORGE 

entirely in this direction, and he 
largely contributed to the achieve- 
ments of the Napoleonic period. He 
was one of those chosen to accompany 
Bonaparte on the scientific staff of the 
expedition to Egypt in 1798. In 1802 
tie returned to his labours, and was 
elected to the Academy of Sciences 
five years later. For the national ser- 
vices rendered during- his eastern com- 
mission he was decorated, and en- 
trusted to make a tour throug^h the 
museums in Portugal. He gathered 
a valuable collection of material dur- 
ing this visit, and was made professor 
of zoology at the faculty of sciences at 
Paris. Some of his finest memoirs 
were written in co-operation with 
Georges Cuvier, professor of anatomy 
and palaeontology. Philosophie 

anatomique systeme dentaire des matm- 
mif^res et des oiseaux and Description 
de I'Egypt par le commission des 
sciences were among his best. He 
died in 1844, having been blind for the 
last four years of his life. 

Georgfe III. (1738-1820). — King 
of Great Britain and Ireland ; suc- 
ceeded in 1760. It is only necessary 
in this place to mention his political 
dealings with N, " Do you know what 
I call this peace," said the King, 
alluding to the Peace of Amiens in 
1802, "an experimental peace, for it 
is nothing else. But it was unavoid- 
able." He was right, notwithstand- 
ing his insanity, for on 18 May 1803 
the declaration of war was placed 
before Parliament. The French pre- 
parations for an invasion of England 
tx>used the nation to a high pitch of 
Aithusiasm,, and the King found him- 
self the centre of a great national 
movement w'hich had his wholehearted 
sympathy. But on 12 Feb. 1804 his 
mind became more seriously affected 
than ever, and when he rallied from 
the attack it was to find himself in 
the midst of a ministerial crisis in 
which Pitt confronted Addington for 
the leadership and conduct of affairs 
during the war. Pitt desired a 
coalition ministry, but the King would 
not hear of the inclusion of Fox in the 
Cabinet, so perforce the great whip 
was left out. 

In 1805 N. addressed a personal 
appeal to George III, for the cement- 



GEORGE8 

ing of peace, which was answered by 
a curt refusal to discuss terms of peace 
without consulting Russia and the 
other continental Powers. Although 
George IIl.'s dealings with N. were 
made through the medium of his 
ministers, there is good evidence to 
show that he regarded N, as a 
usurper and the fruit of the Revolu- 
tion, and as in no wise to be 
countenanced or encouraged by the 
other crowned heads of Europe, 

Georges, Marfi^uerite Josephine 
Wemmer (1787 - 1867),— French 
actress. Many Napoleonic historians 
have paid tribute to the Emperor's 
morality, but in truth he was by no 
means proof to feminine wiles ; and, 
if his love-affairs were mostly con- 
ducted somewhat surreptitiously, they 
were certainly numerous. True it is 
that, caring little for the lighter side 
of the stage, he was never enthralled 
by any danseuse ; but he had a genuine 
fondness for the drama, the result 
being that he was trapped by more 
than one great actress, prominent 
among them being Mile. Georges. 
Born of humble parents at Bayeux in 
1787, Mile. Georges first stepped on 
to the Parisian stage in 1802, and not 
long after this we find her making her 
bow at the Tuileries. It would seem, 
however, that on her initial appear- 
ance there she did not make much im- 
pression on the Emperor, w'ho, observ- 
ing that neither her hands nor her 
feet were beautiful, bluntly expressed 
his disapproval of this defect. But a 
little later N., having taken up' his 
abode at St. Cloud, had a second visit 
from the actress ; and now she began 
to appeal to him, this intimacy ripen- 
ing into a liaison, whidh was continued 
subsequently on the Emperor's return 
to his Parisian home. Indeed, the 
liaison lasted fully two years, accord- 
ing to the lady's own account; while 
she further maintains that throughout 
that period she was absolutely faith- 
ful to her imperial lover ! Be that 
as it may, Josephine was soon apprised 
of the affair, which made her fiercely 
jealous ; but N. laughed at his con- 
sort's prudery, and said characteristi- 
cally : " She takes things far too 
seriously. She is always afraid that I 
shall fall deeply in love, and cannot 



199 



GERARD 

vmderstand that love is not for me. 
For what is love, indeed, but a passion 
that renounces the whole world in 
favour of one beloved object? and 
such exclusiveness is not in my 
nature." 

We find that in 1807 Mile. Georges 
received a present of ten thousand 
francs from the imperial treasury ; but 
there is little record otherwise of 
munificence to her from her lover. 
And when she played at court she 
received just the same payment as her 
comrades, w'hile it is related that once, 
on her venturing- to ask Bonaparte for 
his portrait, he handed her a double 
Napoleon piece, saying- : " Here it is ; 
I am told it is a capital likeness." In 
1808 the actress left Paris, going 
thence to Russia; and it appears that 
the Emperor himself sent her there, 
being anxious, for political reasons, 
that she should entangle the Tsar. 
We have no reason to suppose that 
she was successful in this mission, 
but when, in 181 2, she and N. met 
again at Dresden, he showed marked 
favour towards her, much to the 
chagrin of some of her sisters of the 
stage. Then during the Hundred 
Days she was able to do him a ser- 
vice, placing in his hands various 
papers compromising the Duke of 
Otranto; and the Emperor, according 
to tradition, expressed his gratitude by 
a pecuniary gift. 

Mile. Georges lived till 1867, and 
we are told that even to the end she 
■was always ready to defend N.'s repu- 
tation against all attacks, and could 
scarcely speak of him without show- 
ing signs of deep emotion. 

Gerard, Etienne Maurice, Comte 
(1773-1852).— General ; was born at 
Damvilliers (Meuse) on 4 April 1773. 
In 1 791 he enlisted in a battalion of 
volunteers and saw active service 
under Dumouriez and Jourdan in the 
celebrated campaigns of 1792-3. In 1795 
he joined Bernadotte as his aide-de- 
camp ; in 1799 was made lieutenant- 
colonel and colonel in 1800. He played 
a distinguished part at Austerlitz and 
Jena and in Nov. 1806 was miade general 
of brigade. At Wagram his courage 
and skill gained him the rank of baron. 
In the Peninsular campaign (1810-11) 
he took an onerous and courageous 



GERARD 

share in the battle of Fuentes 
d'Onoro, and in the Russian expedition 
he fought at Smolensk and Valutina, 
and for his part in the battle of Boro- 
dino was promoted general of division, 
whilst in the famous retreat he was, 
like Ney, a tower of strength. In 
command of a division he fought at 
Liitzen and Bautzen ; and at Leipsic, 
while commanding the XI. corps, was 
seriously wounded. For his conduct 
at Bautzen N. created him a count of 
the empire. In 1814 he fought with 
desperate courage, winning even 
greater distinction, but accepted 
honours from the Bourbons, being 
named grand cross of the Legion of 
Honour and chevalier of St. Louis by 
Louis XVIII. On N.'s return from 
Elba, however, Gerard returned to his 
former allegiance, was made a peer of 
France, and given the command of 
the IV. corps in the Army of the 
North, in this capacity playing a bril- 
liant part in the engagement at Ligny, 
On 15 June the progress of his corps 
was impeded by the desertion of Bour- 
mont and several officers, whidh 
weakened the morale of the remain- 
ing officers and men. When Gerard 
acquainted N. with what had hap- 
pened he was grimly reminded that he 
had answered for Bourmont's fidelity 
■wiith his own head. It was Gerard 
who gave Grouchy the advice to march 
to the sound of the guns, advice whidh, 
however, was not taken. After the 
downfall of N. he retired to Brussels, 
but returned to France in 1817. He 
became a member of the Chamber of 
Deputies in 1822, being re-elected in 
1827. In 1830 he took part in trying 
to quell the revolutionary movements 
in Paris, and after this became 
minister of war and a marshal of 
France. In 1831 he again saw active 
service in command of the northern 
army, and in thirteen days drove the 
Dutch Army out of Belgium, whilst 
in 1832 he successfully besieged Ant- 
werp (23 Dec.) in the most famous 
siege of that stronghold. He was 
again minister of war in 1834, but 
resigned in a few months. In 1836 
he was made grand chancellor of the 
Legion of Honour, and in 1838 com- 
mander of the National Guards of the 
Seine. Under Louis Nap>oleon he 



200 



GERARD 

became a senator, and he died on 
7 April 1852. 

Gerard, Fran9ois Pascal Simon 

(1770-1837).— French painter. See 
Painting and Portraits. 

C-erona, Siege of.— This fortress 
was besieg^ed by the French (18,000!) 
under General vSaint-Cyr from 6 May 
until 18 Oct. 1809, when he was re- 
placed by Aug^ereau. The town was 
g-arrisoned by 3,000 Spanish reg^ulars 
under Alvarez, who held out until 
12 Dec, when throug"b illness he was 
obliged to give up his command to 
Bolivar. The new commander imme- 
diately entered into negotiations for 
the surrender of the place, and 
Augereau, who was anxious to gain 
possession of it, willingly granted 
honourable terms to the besieged. 
Nine thousand persons died during the 
siege. 

Girard, Jean Baptiste, Baron 
(1775-1815).— French, general; was 
born at Aups, dept. Var. Entering 
the army he saw service in Italy, and 
after being present at Austerlitz, was 
made general of division and a baron. 
He later served in Spain and Poland, 
was wounded at Lutzen, and fought at 
Dresden. After N.'s first abdication 
he placed himself at the disposal of 
the Bourbons, but rejolihed his former 
master on the escape from Elba. 
Girard received several wounds at 
Ligny, from the effects of Which he 
died in Paris a few days later. 

Girardin, C. Stanislaus X. L., 
Comte de (1762-1827).— French politi- 
cian ; came from a family of the old 
nofolesse, and had King Stanislaus as 
a godfather and Rousseau as a tutor. 
He served as a volunteer before the 
Revolution, and was later elected to 
the Legislative Assembly, where he con- 
nected himself with the extreme left. 
During the Terror he escaped by being 
sent to England on a mission through 
the influence of Marat. He returned 
in 1793, and was imprisoned until the 
fall of Robespierre. He then retired 
to Sezanne, where he became very 
friendly with Joseph Bon:.parte, under 
whose patronage he was appointed to 
the Tribunat. He accompanied Joseph 
as an officer of his staff to Naples and 
Spain, and in 1810 was promoted to 
the rank of general of brigade and 



GODOY 

created a count. He held many 
appointments under the Empire, and 
in 1819 was elected to the House of 
Deputies, of which he remained a 
member until his death. 

Godov, Alvarez de Faria, RIos 
Sanchez y Zarzoza Manuel de 
(1767-1851).— Duke of el Alcudia and 
"Prince of the Peace," a famous 
Spanish minister and diplomatist ; was 
born at Badajos 12 May 1767. He 
came of a poor but noble family, and 
in 1787 entered the Guardia de Corps 
or Royal Bodyguard of Spain. He 
soon attracted the notice of Maria 
Luisa of Parma, Princess of the 
Asturias, whose husband was so 
addicted to the chase that he left her 
very much to her own designs. Her 
nature was coarse and passionate, and 
when she became queen on the death 
of Charles HI. in 1788 Godoy was 
rapidly advanced. Godoy and Maria 
Luisa soon achieved a complete 
ascendancy over the weak and care- 
less King, whose obstinacies they 
checked and whose whims they pre- 
tended to countenance. When the 
favourite saw that Charles was set 
upon a particular course he adopted 
it, and so pliable did he become that 
the puerile monarch soon came to 
regard him as indispensable. He was 
created Duke of el Alcudia, and his 
advance in the army was so rapiid as 
to be the subject of public scandal. 
He succeeded in overturning the 
ministry of Aranda, and from that 
time (1792) until the year 1798 he acted 
as premier. Forced to retire in that 
year because of French intrigues, he 
by no means forfeited the confidence 
of his royal "master," and in 1801 
he was enabled to return to office. 
He was at the head of affairs until 
1807, but the nation, headed by the 
Prince of the Asturias on the one 
hand and the Napoleonic policy on the 
other, made his position entirely un- 
tenable, and on i7~ March 1808 a 
popular revolt forced him to seek 
refuge in hiding, on emerg^ing from 
which he was recognized and arrested. 
Ferdinand, Prince of the Asturias, 
ordered his imprisonment, till N. 
demanded that he should be sent to 
Bayonne, where he rejoined his master 
and mistress. He remained with 



201 



<30URGAUD 

them until the death of Charles IV. 
at Rome in 1819. His property had 
been confiscated in 1808, and this he 
was unable to recover, as part of it 
had been presented to the Duke of 
Wellington by the grateful Spanish 
nation. His royal mistress had pre- 
deceased her husband, and with the 
withdrawal of her influence Godoy's 
fortunes rapidly waned, and the re- 
mainder of his life was spent in poverty 
and obscurity.^ He received a small 
pension from Louis Philippe, and died 
in Paris on 4 Oct. 1851. 

Godoy was probably a man of very 
ordinary ability, if possessed of a great 
deal of personal charm. The extra- 
ordinary circumstance concerning his 
career is that, commencing as favourite 
of the queen, he was able by dint of 
his personal magnetism to gain almost 
complete mastery over the actions and 
mind of her husband. As the years 
continued he became more and more 
deeply entrenched in the affections of 
the unhappy Charles, who constantly 
protected him from the public fury, 
and despite his recurring diplomatic 
failures clung to him; most piteously. 
When he found the French war 
disastrous he made the Peace of Basel, 
and for this received the absurd and 
high-sounding title of "Prince of the 
Peace," which might surely have 
occurred to its ignorant and narrow- 
sighted inventors as closely verging 
on blasphemy. His gallantries were 
legion, and these continued to be 
tolerated by the infatuated Maria 
Luisa, and a semi-royal match was 
arranged for him, although he was 
already married and was living with 
his legal wife. The entire circum- 
stances of his career throw into bold 
relief the moral and intellectual rotten- 
ness of the Spanish court of his time. 
On the other hand, he did his best 
to break the power of the Inquisition 
and the reactionary parties, and he 
appears to have been interesting and 
charming — ^gifts which will go far to 
blot out his p>olitical errors. Per'haps 
the most saving epitaph which could 
be indited concerning him is, " He was 
picturesque." 

Gourg^aud, Caspar, Baron (1783- 
1852).— Was born at Versailles, his 
father being musician of the royal 



GOURGAUD 

chapel. He entered the artillery and 
served with credit in the campaigns of 
1803 and 1805, and was wounded at 
Austerlitz. He was present at the 
siege of Saragossa in 1808, and took 
part in nearly all the battles of the 
Danube campaign in 1809. He was 
appointed one of the ordnance officers 
attached to the Emperor, whom he 
followed through the Russian cam- 
paign of 1 81 2. Entering the Kremlin 
before N. he discovered there some 
barrels of gunpowder, which might 
have caused the Emperor's destruc- 
tion. For his services in the Russian 
campaign he was named baron and 
first ordnance officer. He fought at 
Leipsic and Hanau. Espying a small 
band of Cossacks riding at headlong 
speed towards N.'s tent he shot their 
leader. He also distinguished himself 
at Laon and Reims. He joined the 
corps of Louis XVHL in 1814, but 
when N. returned in the following 
year he accepted a generalship under 
him, was made aide-de-camp, and 
fought during the Hundred Days by 
his side. He retired with N. to 
Rochefort, and it was to him that the 
Emperor entrusted the letter of appeal 
to the prince-regent for an asylum in 
England. Setting sail for England in 
H.M.S. Slaney, he was not allowed to 
land in this country. He made up his 
mind to share his master's exile and 
sailed with him to St. Helena. His 
amusing speeches at table during the 
voyage have been put on record by the 
secretary of H.M.S. Northumberland, 
in which they were made. He was 
vain and touchy, and soon came to 
loggerheads with Las Cases and 
MontholoTi during his stay at St. 
Helena. He challenged the latter to a 
duel, for which he received a severe 
rebuke from N. The numerous slights 
he suffered from the deposed Emperor 
made him desire to depart, but before 
he could sail he spent a month with 
Colonel Basil Jackson, who wrote an 
account of him in his Notes and 
Reminiscences of a Staff Officer. 
In England Gourgaud came into con- 
tact with the many detractors of Sir 
Hudson Lowe and made common cause 
with them. He published his Cam- 
paign of 1 81 5 as well as reviews on 
the works of other authors, who had 



202 



QOUVION 

dealt with the subject of the Napo- 
leonic wars. With one of these, Count 
de S^gur, he dealt so harshly that the 
result was a duel, in which he wounded 
his man. He also siharply criticized 
Sir Walter Scott's Life of Napoleon, 
which drew from the novelist a remark 
to one of his Edinburgh friends that if 
Gourgaud wanted to fight he would 
not_^ run away from him. He returned 
to active service in the French Army 
in 1830, and in 1840 sailed with other 
veterans to St. Helena to bring back 
the remains of N. to France. In 1849 
he served in the Legislative Assembly 
as deputy, and died in 1852. 

Gouvion Saint - Cyr, Laurent, 
Marquis de (1764-1830). — French 
marshal ; was born at Toul, and at the 
outset of his career fell under the 
spell of art. In 1792, however, he 
became captain of a volunteer bat- 
talion under Custine, and in 1796 com- 
manded a division of Moreau's troops 
in the Rhine campaign with no small 
measure of success. He succeeded 
Mass^na in the command of the 
Italian campaign, and in 1799 led the 
left wing of Jourdan's men into Ger- 
many. Later he served in Italy and 
the Rhine, where he quarrelled with 
his superior, Moreau, and departed to 
take command of the army in Spain. 
On the conclusion of a treaty of peace 
with Portugal the intended Spanish 
invasion did not take place, and Saint- 
Cyr became ambassador at Madrid In 
succession to Lucien Bonaparte. From 
1803-6 he commanded an army corps in 
Italy, served under Mass^na, and took 
part in the operations in the south of 
Italy, subsequently gaining distinction 
in the Prussian (1807) and Polish 
(1808) campaigns. He was created a 
count the same year and commanded 
a division in Catalonia, but, falling 
into disgrace, resigned his commis- 
sion, and retired from active service 
until 181 1. In 181 2 he commanded an 
army corps and w^on a victory at 
Polotsk In the Russian campaign, for 
which he was promoted to the rank of 
marshal. The following year he took 
part in the battle of Dresden. He suc- 
cessfully defended that town until the 
arrival of N. with fresh supplies and 
succeeded in saving the situation for 
the French. At Leipsic also he took 



GREGOIRE 

command, but was forced to capitulate 
on the news of N.'s retreat to the 
Rhine. Raised to the house of peers 
on the fall of N., he held successively 
the offices of minister of war and 
minister of marine. In 1817 he was 
made a marquis, and duri)ng these 
years he exercised much influence in 
revising the military system and 
general organization. He died at 
Hyferes, Var, in March 1830. It may 
be that Salnt-Cyr did not possess the 
energy essential to a bold strategist, 
but he has been called a "savant in 
the art of war," and the Emperor 
himself placed much faith in his mili- 
tary genius. 

Grand Cadastre, The.— Was the 
name given to an assembly whose 
business it was to make a general 
survey of the country. It was formed 
In 1807 to facilitate the method of 
taxation throughout France. The 
Cadastre was ordered to be formed by 
N., who pointed out the cadastral 
survey in Lombard,y and Piedmont as 
an example which France would do 
well to Imitate. It was not completed 
until 1880, and has since been altered 
and revised from time to time. 

Gravina, Don Carlos, Duke of 
(1756-1805)-— Spanish admiral; was 
born at Palermo. Entering the navy 
at the age of twenty, he was present 
at the sieges of Mahon and Gibraltar ; 
led an expedition against the Barbary 
pirates ; defended Oran against the 
Moors; and in 1793 was the last to 
embark when Toulon was abandoned. 
Appointed ambassador at Paris, he co- 
operated with Villeneuve in plans for 
a descent on England. He accom- 
panied the French admiral to the West 
Indies, and was his second-in-com- 
mand at Trafalgar, where he received 
a mortal wound. 

Greeroire. Henri (1750 - 1831).— 
The revolutionary bishop of Blols and 
champion of the Galilean church ; was 
born of humble parents at Veho, near 
Lun6ville, on 4 Dec. 1750. He was 
educated at Nancy by the Jesuit 
fraternity, subsequently becoming In- 
structor in their seminary at Pont-i- 
Mousson, and cure at Emberm^nil, in 
Lorraine. In 1789 he was elected 
deputy to the states-general by the 
clergy of Nancy, distinguishing him- 



203 



GREGOIRE 

self in the assermbly by his profoundly 
revolutionist sympathies. He was the 
first to signify his adherence to the 
new constitution of the clergy as de- 
creed by the national assembly in 
1790, and in the following year he was 
elected constitutional bishop of Blols. 
He also sat in the National Conven- 
tion, of which he soon became presi- 
dent. His position in the years that 
followed was one of great difficulty. 
In face of threat and menace he re- 
fused to give up the ritual of his 
faith ; nor would he vacate his place 
in the convention, but at length his 
calm courage and altruistic purpose 
had its effect on the revolutionary 
party. As a member of the Council 
of Five Hundred his efforts for the 
restoration of the Christian faith were 
unremitting ; and with this end in view 
he presided over two national assem- 
blies of the clergy. Meanwhile, 
Gr6goire's Gallican tendencies had 
brought him into disfavour with the 
Church of Rome, and he strongly 
objected to N.'s Concordat with the 
Holy See. N. pretended to humour 
him, gave him and his party full 
liberty of discussion during the nego- 
tiations, and even summoned him to 
the Tuileries, where he was received 
with every mark of esteem. This 
proceeding, however, was no indica- 
tion of a desire on N.'s part for a 
Gallican church, but was merely in- 
tended to intimidate and discipline the 
Romish party. Under the adverse 
influence of Rome, Gregoire Avas 
forced to resign his bishopric after 
the signing of the Concordat in 1801. 
Despite the fact that he strenuously 
opposed in the senate the proclaona- 
tion of the Empire and the divorce of 
N. from Josephine, Gregoire did not 
fare ill during the Napoleonic era, 
being made a count of the Empire and 
an officer of the Legion of Honour. 
But a different fate awaited him under 
the secoind Restoration. He con- 
tinued in disfavour with both church 
and state, but in spite of this he re- 
fused to withdraw his oath to the 
revolutionary constitution, and was 
consequently forced to retire. Thence- 
forward he devoted himself to literary, 
scholastic, and philanthropic pursuits. 
He died on 20 May 1831, but before 



GROUCHY 

his death he insisted on having the last 
rites of the church administered to 
him, despite the ruling of the hier- 
archy. He had spent his life in a 
conscientious and consistent, if mis- 
guided, effort to reconcile the church 
and the revolutionary state, with the 
result that his doctrines were dis- 
tasteful to both, and no less so to N. 
and to the Royalist party. Among 
his writings are : Histoire des Sectes 
RMigieuses (1810) ; Essai Histortque 
sur les Liberies de VEglise Gallicane 
(1818); De rinfluence du Christianisme 
sur la condition des Femmes (1821); 
Histoire des Confesseurs des em- 
pereurs, des rois, et d'autres princes 
(1824). A son of Carnot published 
Mdmoires de Gregoire in 1837. 

Gros, Antoine Jean (1771-1835).— 
French painter. See Painting. 

Gross-Beeren (Leipsic Campaign). 
— The battle of Gross-Beeren was 
fought on 23 Aug. 1813 round the 
village of that name near Berlin. 
After varying fortunes the Frendi had 
finally to evacuate it and retire, losing 
1,700 prisoners and 26 guns, and 
Oudinot's scattered army was forced 
to fall back before the Allies on 
Wittenberg. 

Grouchy, Emmanuel, Marquis do 
(1766- 1847). — French general and 
marshal of France ; was born in 
Paris on 23 Oct. 1766. Of noble birth 
and lineage, he entered the army at 
the age of thirteen, serving first in the 
artillery and afterwards in the guards, 
whence he was expelled in conse- 
quence of his revolutionary tendencies. 
He apipears again in the campaign of 
1792 as leader of a cavalry reg^iment, 
while for his part in quelling the Ven- 
dean risings of the following year he 
was made general of division. But 
again he was obliged to leave the 
army, this time because of his aristo- 
cratic birth ; however, his sympathies 
were all with the people, and in 1795 
he was restored. In the following 
year he accompanlied Hodhe's expedi- 
tion to stir up rebellion in Ireland. 
He also served, as general of division, 
in the campaign of 1799, during which 
he Was wounded many tJmes and taken 
prisoner. 

From the first opposed to the 
assumption of power by N., General 



204 



GROUCHY 

Grouchy was among' those who pro- 
tested against the coup d'etat of i8 
Brumaire. Nevertheless, hiis out- 
spoken frankness did not prejudice N. 
against him ; the First Consul gave 
him a place in his army, and Grouchy 
speedily accustomed himself to the 
new order of things, and became one 
of his master's most valued generals. 
Thenceforward he was with N. 
through all his campaig"ns — in Austria, 
Prussia, Spain, Poland and Russia. 
Particularly did he distingfuish him- 
self at Hohenlinden, Eylau, Wagram, 
and at the retreat from Moscow, 
where he proved to be a good soldier 
and a brilliant leader of cavalry. In 
1812 he commanded one of the four 
cavalry corps. He was eng^aged in 
France in 1814, and was ag'ain severely 
wounded. On the first Restoration, 
Grouchy, with other of N.'s generals, 
was deprived of his military position 
and honours. 

Another and perhaps less honour- 
able phase of Grouchy 's career was 
entered upon when he rallied to the 
grande armee of the Emperor on the 
latter's return from Elba. N., very 
lavish with honours for those who 
suppK>rted him, made Grouchy a mar- 
shal and peer of France, giving him 
tke command of the reserve cavalry, 
and, after Lig^ny, of the entire rigiht 
wing of the grande armee, with instruc- 
tions to follow up the retreating- Prus- 
sians. It is in this last respect that 
Grouchy failed so signally that many 
authorities have accused him of actual 
treachery towards N. Instead of 
pressing" closely on the heels of the 
Prussians as they retreatfed on Wavre, 
he displayed an amazing slowness and 
caution In the pursuit, giving the 
enemy ample time to recover them- 
selves. Then, though he knew that a 
big battle was in progress on his left, 
he made no attempt to join the main 
army or to cut off the Prussians from 
the main body of the allied army. 
Altogether St would seem that a 
curious lack of military skill, even of 
common intelligence, characterized 
Grouchy 's conduct of this part of the 
Waterloo campaign. Only when the 
great battle was over and the cause of 
N. finally lost did Grouchy gather up 
the remnants of the grande armde with 



GUNZBURG 

a strong hand and conduct a masterly, 
but useless, retreat to, Paris. 

The question of whether Grouchy 's 
military slovenliness (there is no other 
name for it) was due to treachery or 
to sheer inefficiency has been much 
discussed. Some authorities hold that 
Grouchy, though a skilful cavalry 
leader, was not fitted for the responsi- 
bility which latterly devolved on him ; 
that both his generals and his men 
lacked discipline and confidence in 
him. On the other hand, there are 
those who maintain that Grouchy pur- 
posely refrained from going to the 
Emperor's assistance ; and indeed it 
is passing strange that he should fail 
N. just at the moment when his help 
was most required. After he had re- 
tired to Paris he was court-martialled 
and an attempt — fortunately for him 
unsuccessful — was made to have him 
condemned to death. However, he 
was exiled, and only permitted to 
return in 182 1. Though he was re- 
instated then as general, and in 1830 
as peer and marshal of France, his life 
at Paris was not a happy one, hated 
as he was both by Royalists and Bona- 
partists. He died at St. Etienne on 
29 May 1847. 

Guastaila.— The duchy which N. 
gave to his sister Pauline, Princess 
Borghese, in 1806, was founded by the 
Lombards in the seventh century. In 
1 106 the Pope held a council in the 
church of the Pieve. It was seized in 
1307 by Giberto da Correggio, of 
Parma, and in 1403 passed to Guido 
Torelli, the cousin of Filippo Maria 
Visconti of Milan. It was sold by 
the last female descendant to Ferrante 
Gonzaga in 1539, and in 1621 was 
made the seat of a duchy. Guastaila 
was seized by the Emperor, Francis I., 
in 1746; in 1748 ceded to Parma. After 
having been comprised in the Italian 
Republic, 1796, it next passed into the 
possession of France, and, as stated, 
N. made his sister Duchess of Guas- 
taila in 1806. It was ceded to Parma 
in 1 81 5 and to Modena 1847, and be- 
came part of the kingdom of Italy in 
i860. 

GCinzburg:, Battle of.— An inci- 
dent of the Danube campaign of 1805. 
On 9 Oct. a French army corps under 
Ney forced the Austrians to abandon 



205 



GUSTAVUS 

the bridg-es over the Danube at Giinz- 
burg. The latter suffered 1,300 
casualties. 

Gustavus IV.— Ex-king- of Sweden, 
son of Gustavus III. ; born 1778. The 
trial and execution of the Due 
d'Enghien in 1804 caused him to dis- 
miss the French ambassador. His 
warlike preparations, however, were 
likely to be ruinous to Sweden, and 
he was asked by his advisers to re- 
linquish them. He refused. The 
Swedes then rebelled against him, 
enthroning his uncle as Charles XIH. 
Gustavus became an exile from his 
country, and died at St. Gall, 1837. 



H 



Hague, Convention o"f The. — 

Was signed on i6 May 1795, and was 
a treaty of peace between the two 
powers France and Holland. It bound 
N. to evacuate Holland immediately 
on the conclusion of peace. 

Hanau, Battle of (Leipsic Cam- 
paign).— After the "Battle of the 
Nations," N., with his army reduced 
to 80,000 men, of whom he could not 
rely upon more than 50,000, found his 
way barred on 30 Oct. 181 3 by Wrede 
with about 40,000 Bavarians and Cos- 
sacks and 100 well-placed guns. The 
French, under cover of their artillery, 
which was effectively directed by 
Drouot, charged straight at their 
enemy, and practically annihilated 
them. The retreat was thereafter 
successfully accomplished. 

Hands, N.'s Care of.— Constant 
says : "The Emperor was very careful 
of his hands. But it often happened 
that during this campaign " (the Rus- 
sian) "he had to forgo indulging such 
a fad. When it was very hot he no 
longer wore gloves, as he found these 
very uncomfortable. Thus, by expo- 
sure to the sun, his hands became very 
brown. When cold iweather came, 
what before was a touch of dandyism 
became a healthful precaution." 

Hanover. — One of the northern 
German provinces, lying between 
Saxony on the E. and Holland on 
the W. 

Until the beginning of the eighteenth 
century Hanover's history was merged 



HANOVER 

in that of the duchies of Brunswick- 
Luneberg and its offshoots ; but in 
1705 Luneberg-Celle, Saxe-Lauenburg^ 
and Calenberg or Hanover were united 
under the rule of George Louis, the 
Elector of Hanover, who in 1714 be- 
came King of Great Britain and Ire- 
land. In the days of N. George HI. 
was the nominal ruler of Hanover^ 
but his German domain did not hold 
such an important place in his affec- 
tions as it had in those of his grand- 
father and great-grandfather. From 
1793 to 1795 Hanover fought on the 
Allies' side against France, but in the 
last-named year the treaty of Basel 
forced, her to become neutral. Prussia 
was now becoming envious of Han- 
over's increasing prosperity, and was 
casting longing eyes on her domains; 
N. was fully aware of these feelings 
and used them for his own ends. 
Prussian troops occupied Hanover for 
a few months in 1801 at N.'s instiga- 
tion, but the peace of Lun6ville with- 
drew them and added the bishopric of 
Osnabriick to her territory. In May 
1803 French troops under Mortier in- 
vaded' the Electorate, closed her ports 
to British commerce and exacted con- 
tributions of money. With the for- 
mation of the Third Coalition of 
Powers in 1805, it seemed to N. that 
the time was now ripe to secure 
Prussia's help by the offer of the long- 
wished-for territory ; and he em- 
powered the French ambassador at 
Berlin to open negotiations, which in- 
cluded the cession of Hanover as an 
essential condition of peace between 
France and Great Britain. Prussia 
was to negotiate between the Allies 
and N., but when the conditions were 
laid before Pitt, the English Prime 
Minister, he absolutely refused to sug- 
gest the cession of Hanover to his 
king, although willing to pay a sub- 
sidfy. When Fox became Prime 
Minister in 1806, N. considered the 
possibility of using Hanover as an 
exchange in obtaining a settlement 
with Great Britain, but he finally de- 
cided not to buy peace with England, 
but to enforce it. 

Prussia, humbled in the dust by N., 
signed a treaty in Feb. which secured 
Hanover to her, but at the price of 
her national independence. Prussian 



206 



HANY 

troops entered the Electorate, and in 
March it was annexed. This act of 
brigandage was widely condemned, 
and the British ambassador recalled 
from Berlin. A draft treaty was 
drawn up towards the end of July, 
which incorporated the restoration of 
Hanover to George III., but it was 
never ratified, and in Nov., N., 
having given up all hopes of peace 
with England, sent French troops into 
Hanover under Mortier. From this 
date until 1813 Hanover was prac- 
tically a part of the French Empire, 
although both Sweden and Great 
Britain sent expeditions in attempts 
to drive her troops out of the 
country ; and the Treaty of Tilsit in 
1807 provided for Hanover's occupa- 
tion " provisionally " by the Frendh. 
This occupation became a very heavy 
burden on the people of the country ; 
many of the Hanoverians fought with 
the Allies in 1813 and 1815, and N.'s 
downfall was welcomed. At the Con- 
gress of Vienna, Hanover had her 
boundaries enlarged, and was made 
into a kingdom. 

The tenacity With which N. kept a 
grip on Hanover and other neighbour- 
ing states may be explained by the 
great importance which he placed on 
North Sea ports — and even in his 
offers of this kingdom to Prussia he 
imposed conditions regarding the ex- 
clusion of British commerce. Hanover 
played a not unimportant part in N.'s 
political schemes, were it only the 
somewhat humble one of suitable 
bait; and he also used her when 
occasion demanded as one of his 
"bones of contention," with which, 
he successfully dissolved almost 
every compact of powers formed 
agpaSnst him.. 

Hany, Ren6Just. Abb^.—A 
famous mineralogist, born at St. Just 
in 1743- Napoleon ordered him to 
write a Traite de Physique in 1803. 
On Napoleon's return from Elba 
Hany was decorated with the Legion 
of Honour. He died in 1822. 

Haslach, Battle of.— An engage- 
ment of the Danube campaign which 
took place on 11 Oct. 1805. While 
obeying the Emperor's orders to 
envelop the city of Ulm, Dupont, 
with only 6,000 men, advanced upon 



HEILSBERa 

an entrenched camp of Austrians 
20,000 strong lying to the north 
of the town. The French seized 
and held the village of Haslach 
for some time, but with vastly 
superior numbers their enemy finally 
wrested it from them. Dupont lost 
1,000 prisoners and 1,500 dead and 
wounded, but he took nearly 2,000 
Austrians prisoners. 

Hats. — N. was extremely sensitive 
about his head, and could not bear 
new hats, wearing the same one as 
long as possible. He kept a shabby 
old hat, lined with white satin, in a 
square chest covered with yellow 
leather, in which his campaigning 
garments were laid. He almost in- 
variably affected the same type of 
hat, the shape of which is familiar 
to everyone from numerous illustra- 
tions. 

Hesse- Oassel.— The government 
district of Cassel in the province of 
Hesse-Nassau. William IX., of the 
line of Hesse-Cassel that was founded 
in 1567, ascended the throne in 1785. 
He joined in the war against the 
French ; and in the peace that followed 
was oomipensated for his loss of terri- 
tory on the left bank of the Rhine by 
some Frendh possessions round Mainz. 
He was made William I., and took the 
title of Elector. In 1806 he declared 
neutrality, but having mobilized 20,000 
men N. was inclined to distrust his 
intentions. Besides this, N. wanted 
Hesse-Cassel for the new kingdom of 
Westphalia which he was forming, so 
he deposed William, who fled to Den- 
mark. The French were, however^ 
routed after the battle of Leipsic in 
1813, and Elector William I. returned 
to his throne lin triumph. At the Con- 
gress of Vienna the Allies agreed to 
restore to William the ancient king- 
dom of Hesse-Cassel, and the final 
subsidy of the treaty with it was 
allowed to expire. 

Heilsberg:, Battle of (Fpiedland 
Campaign). — On 3 and 4 June 1807 
Bennigsen, with about 80,000 Rus- 
sians, retired towards Heilsberg, 
where he entrenched. N. endeavoured 
to cut Bennigsen off from Konigs- 
berg, but the Russians, uncovering 
their entrenchments on the loth, 
handled the French severely until 



207 



HOCHE 

darkness put an end to the strugg^le. 
The French losses were heavy. 

Hoche. Lazare (1768-97).— A 

famous Republican commander; was 
born near Versailles on 24 June 1768. 
His parents were in the humblest 
circumstances, and he enlisted in the 
gardes frangaises when barely sixteen. 
Imbued with an extraordinary love of 
knowledge, Hoche studied night and 
day to procure the necessary books, 
and earned money by doing all kinds 
of work in his spare time. Even in 
a period of remarkable men and 
extraordinary careers, Hoche stands 
out as a foremost figure. By his 
rigid sense of duty and calm courage 
he won promotion, and when in 1789 
the gardes were disbanded was already 
a sergeant. He served in various 
regiments of the line, and received a 
commission in 1792. The defence of 
Thionville brought him further promo- 
tion, and in the operations of 1792-3 
on the northern frontier of France he 
rendered distinguished services in the 
field. At Neerwinden Hoche was aide- 
de-camp to General Le Veneur, and, 
like his chief, fell under suspicion of 
treason when Dumouriez deserted to 
the Austrians. They were kept under 
arrest and unemployed for several 
months ; but, being subsequently re- 
leased and reinstated, Hodhe took 
part in the defence of Dunkirk. 
Promotion was now rapid, and in 
1793 he became successively chef 
de brigade, general of brigade, and 
general of division, and in October 
of the same year was appointed to 
the command of the army of the 
Moselle, taking the field in Lorraine 
in a few weeks. His first battle was 
Kaiserslauten (28-30 Nov.), in which 
he was badly defeated by the Prus- 
sians. Strangely enough, consider- 
ing that the Terror reigned at Paris, 
Hoche was not recalled, and it is evi- 
dent that his doggedness and will had 
so impressed the national representa- 
tives as to make them believe in his 
final success, a belief whioh was justi- 
fied when, on 22 Dec, he victoriously 
stormed the lines of Troschweiler. 
Thereupon the command of the Army 
of the Rhine was added to that 
which he already held. On the 26th 
of the month he carried Weiissen- 



HOCHE 

burg by assault, for four days after 
sweeping the enemy before him to 
the Rhine. The army subsequently 
went into winter quarters. On 11 
March 1794 Hoche married Anna 
Adelaide Dechaux at Thionville, and 
ten days later was arrested oil a 
charge of treason preferred against 
him by Pichegru, the deposed com- 
mander of the Army of the Rhine, 
and his associates. He was one of 
the fortunate few who escaped death 
at that time, but remained in prison 
till after the fall of Robespierre, 
spending the hours of his captivity 
in study. When released he was 
appointed to the command of the 
west to conduct operations in La 
Vendue, in which he displayed both 
strategical and diplomatic skill. He 
negotiated the peace of Jaunaye {15 
Feb. 1795), and on the recrudescence 
of unrest caused by royalist plots 
defeated and captured Sombreul at 
Quiberon, and was also successful at 
Penthr^vre. It was Hoche who was 
appointed to organize and command 
the troops destined for Ireland, but 
a storm separated him^ from the rest 
of the squadron, and the expedition 
returned in a battered condition to 
Brest. After this he was agaiin sent 
to the Rhine frontier, and defeated the 
Austrians at Neuwied, but hostilities 
ceasing after the Peace of Leoben, he 
returned to Paris. Hoche was un- 
doubtedly ambitious, but his character 
was peculiarly unsuited to political life, 
though he was a great social favourite. 
He was known as a great admirer of 
Josephine before her marriage to N., 
and, according to Lord Holland, was 
the latter's rival in love and in war, 
while Mme. de Remusat asserts that 
Josephine's choice hesitated for some 
time between N., Hoche, and Caulain- 
court. At the time Hoche was cer- 
tainly looked upon as a serious military 
rival to Bonaparte. In 1797 he was 
miinister of war for a short period, 
but political plots secured his dis- 
missal ; besides which, having realized 
that he was being duped by B arras, 
a coolness sprang up between the two 
men, and Hoche gladly returned to 
military duties, proceeding again to 
the Rhine. He was young, handsome, 
and not thirty when his health suddenly 



208 



HOCHSTADT 

beg"an to fail, and he died at Wetzlar 
on 1 8 Sept. 1797. His death was 
commonly attributed to poison, the 
plot of political intrigfuers, and it is 
stated the faculty of Paris declined, 
by order, to investigate the cause of 
death. The Directory commanded 
that his burial be conducted in g^reat 
state, and he was laid to rest beside 
his friend Marceau. 

Hdchstadt, Battle of.— An en- 
g-agfement which took place on 19 
June 1800, when Moreau, with 
70,000 French, defeated the Aus- 
trians {80,000) under Kray, and after 
a hard fig'ht, which chiefly consisted 
in a desperate m^l^e between the 
Republican and Austrian cavalry, 
forced them to evacuate Ulm. It 
was during this action that La Tour 
d'AuvergTie, the "First Grenadier of 
France," was killed. 

Hoheniinden, Battle of.— An im- 
portant battle of the French Revolu- 
tionary Wars, and one which dealt a 
decisive blow to the Second Coalition 
{q.v.). On 3 Dec. 1800, under ter- 
rible weather conditions, Moreau, 
with 60,000 French, defeated 70,000 
Austrians under the young Archduke 
John. One of the French army corps, 
under Richepanse, succeeded in taking 
the enemy in the rear, and terrible 
carnage ensued, during which the 
Austrians lost 20,000 men, 12,000 of 
whom were prisoners, and ninety guns. 
In this engagement the French owed 
much to their rapidity of movement. 

Hoheniinden Campaign (1800). 
— 'Coincident with the last scenes of 
the Italian campaign, the struggle of 
the Revolutionary forces in Germany 
merits brief recognition. Kray had 
been replaced by the young Arch- 
duke John, whose plan was to cross 
the river Inn and swing round the 
flank of the French so that a com- 
plete cordon was drawn across their 
rear. Like most German manoeuvres, 
this plan did not take into account 
the chances of Moreau' s making 
any movement, wMdh he most un- 
accommodatingly did make. He 
concentrated his dispersed forces, 
and, though the weather and roads 
were at their worst, displayed such 
mobility that the Austrians were 
brought to a standstill. On 3 Dec. 



HOHENLINDEN 

1 800, while they were in discon- 
nected masses, Moreau struck fiercely 
at them : Ney and Grouchy held the 
head of the Prussian column, while 
Richepanse attacked its left flank, 
but in the forest of Hoheniinden 
Richepanse was in turn attacked by 
a smaller Austrian column, which 
cut his force in two. He succeeded, 
however, in drawing off part of his 



MAP 

OF THE COUNTHY" 
Between the 




THE MAPPA CO,j LTD„ LONDON. 



The Hoheniinden Campaign 



force and in striking the flank of 
the Archduke's main column, captur- 
ing the baggage train and the artil- 
lery. Finally he made up on the 
rear of the Austrian forces at Hohen- 
iinden, and succeeded in totally dis- 
solving them. The debacle was 
complete, and Richepanse, coming up 
with the fugitives at Mattenpott, in- 
flicted terrible punishment upon them. 
The Battle of Hoheniinden was a 
triumph for French mobility, which 
secured that every Austrian brigade 
was faced by at least two French 
brigades, or else entirely neglected, 



209 



HOLLABRUNN 

so that each was taken in detail by 
superior forces. 

Hollabrunn. Battle of (16 Nov. 

1805),— An engagement of the Danube 
campaign. The Russians under 
Kutusov were retreating before N.'s 
advance on Vienna, but the troops 
being much exhausted, Bagration 
was sent with a small force of 6,000 
to keep the French back, if possible. 
Owing to a misapprehension on the 
part of Murat, and the clever use 
of this by the Russian leader, the 
French advance was delayed. When 
the forces finally met, Bagration's 
heroic resistance held back Murat 
until the main Russian army had 
gained the rest they so much required. 
Holland.— The destinies of Hol- 
land during the Napoleonic period 
were very largely interwoven with 
those of the French Empire. In 
1793 the National Convention of 
France had declared war on the 
Stadtholder of Holland, William V., 
and in the following year French 
armies marching into the United 
Provinces were received with open 
arms by the Patriots, so-called, who 
opposed the rule of William,. From 
that time dated the French supremacy 
in Holland. William, was forced to flee 
to England, and the United Provinces 
became the Batavian Republic. Pre- 
vious to this, however, revolutionary 
principles had been carried from 
France by members of the old 
Dutch republican party who had 
sought sanctuary in that country 
after William's revolution of 1787, 
and some of these now became 
leaders in the new government. 
Despite the energy and moderate 
tone of this body, however, it was 
unable to cope with the financial and 
political situations which arose ; for 
the military requisitions imposed on 
Holland by the Empire were exceed- 
ingly heavy, and the people groaned 
beneath the weight of them. They 
were required to pay eight and a half 
millions sterling for the maintenance 
of a French army of 25,000 men, and 
to cede certain portions of the Bel- 
gian frontier. A National Convention 
inaugurated in 1796 was equally un- 
able to deal with the financial diffi- 
culties, and lasted only two years. 



HOLLAND 

This was followed at the end of 
three years by a Directory on the 
French model, composed of (i) an 
executive body of five members, and 
(2) a legislative body comprising t\\X)< 
chambers, a grand coundil and a 
council of ancients, the former repre- 
sentative in character. Any hopes of 
the restoration of financial prosperity 
under the Directory were frustrated 
by the war of 1799, and the republic 
sank still further into debt. It had 
meanwhile been the design of N. to 
change the government of Holland, 
and he seized upon the opportunity 
which now presented itself, and in 
1801 drew up a constitution consist- 
ing of a council of twelve members, 
with a secretary-general and four 
secretaries of state, the legislative 
power being vested in a single cham- 
ber of thirty-eight members. Bona- 
parte did not hesitate to present this 
toi the existing chambers for con- 
firmation, having been led by the 
French representative at the Hague 
to believe that the Dutch would 
accept any constitution. But the 
two chambers declined, and were 
immediately dissolved. An appeal 
to the people resulted in a large 
majority against the new constitu- 
tion, but four-fifths of the electors 
refrained altogether from voting, and 
this N. construed into acquiescence in 
his scheme, whiclh was then put into 
execution. By way of solatium the 
French army maintained by Holland 
was reduced from 25,000 to 10,000. 
But any benefits which might accrue 
from this were annulled by an exaction 
of 65,000,000 florins. Holland seems 
to have accepted these changes re- 
signedly, hoping for a period of quiet- 
ness. Her hopes were strengthened 
by the Treaty of Amiens, and by the 
termination of the feud between i:he 
Orangists and the Patriots, when the 
Prince of Orange renounced his claims 
to the Stadtholdership. But Dutch 
dreams of peace were efi^ectually de- 
stroyed by the breaking of the Treaty 
of Amiens. The financial condition of 
the country, too, continued unrelieved, 
and the means adopted by the council 
to get rid of a large deficit only exas- 
perated the people. In 1803 Bonaparte 
taxed Batavia to provide an army of 



210 



HOLLAND 

16,000 men, in addition to maintain- 
ing- the French army occupying- the 
country, and also for the provision 
of five men-of-war and five frigates, 
besides transport ships and boats. 
In March 1805 N. set up in Holland 
a Grand Pensionary, Schimmelpen- 
ninck, in order to bind Holland more 
closely to the Empire. In the follow- 
ing year he made his brother, Louis 
Bonaparte, King of Holland, and in 
this year also the Franco-Dutch, Treaty 
g"uaranteed the preservation of Dutch 
interests — in theory, that is, though 
without materially affecting* the con- 
dition of the country. The "good 
King Louis " made a va.liant attempt 
to protect his people against the 
tyranny of N., but with small suc- 
cess. The expenditure of the country 
remained very much largfer than its 
revenue, and appeals to' the French 
Emperor met with no response. 
Meanwhile N., whose main purpose 
in holding- Holland was the sub- 
jugation of Briitain, was much exas- 
perated by the continued trading- of 
Hollandl with that country, and 
threatened to close the mouths of 
the Rhine and Scheldt unless it were 
discontinued. In 1809 he resolved to 
annex Holland, and forced it to main- 
taiin a fleet of fourteen battleships and 
seven frig-ates, and an army of 25,000 
men. Louis, ill and despondent, gave 
in, but the fate of Holland was de- 
layed, not averted. In the following 
year disturbances arose, Louis abdi- 
cated and fled to Bohemia, and on 
9 July an Imperial Edict decreed the 
annexation of Holland. By the decree 
Amsterdam was constituted the third 
city of the Empire, and Holland con- 
tributed six members to the senate, 
three to the council of state, twenty- 
five to the leg'islative body ; and two 
judges to the court of cassation, three 
auditeurs, and three masters of re- 
quest. After the flig-ht of Louis con- 
ditions in Holland were more string-ent 
than ever. The country was divided 
into seven departments, the revenues 
from which were employed for the 
building of ships and forts and the 
maintenance of soldiers. Conscrip- 
tion was enforced more rigidly, books 
and newspapers were censored, and 
everything was done to denationalize 



HOMES 

Holland. This state of things con- 
tinued until the fall of N. and the 
consequent breaking up of the French 
Empire, when the House of Orange 
was restored and the northern and 
southern provinces formed into the 
kingdom of the Netherlands. 

Homes and Palaces of Na- 
poleon.— On gaining the throne of 
France N. entered intoi a rich herit- 
age of noble architecture, and, if he 
himself added little to it, he showed 
usually a sound judgment as regards 
the architects he employed, this apply- 
ing especially to his patronage of the 
famous collaborators Percier and Fon- 
taine. He also manifested exceptional 
eagerness in the matter of collecting 
good works of art for his different 
homes. 

The house at Ajaccio {see Buona- 
parte, The Casa), where the Em- 
peror was born, is still standing, and 
though it is quite an ordinary dwell- 
ing, virtually destitute of architectural 
excellence, this does not necessariily in- 
dicate that the Bonaparte family was 
lacking in taste. The room in which 
Mme. M^re was delivered of her 
famous son is remarkably beautiful, 
furnished as it is with some typical 
specimens of the graceful craftsman- 
ship of the siecle Louis XV. In 1797 
we see N. settled in the castle of 
Montebello (q-v.), near Milan — and 
while there he maintained almost 
regal state, at the same time gather- 
ing round him some of the chief 
Milanese writers and painters of the 
day. We do not hear, however, of 
his making additions to the edifice, 
or attempting to beautify it in any 
fashion ; yet it is clear that already 
he was beginning to feel the desire 
for a real home, for we find him 
writing froim Italy to his brother 
Joseph asking the latter to try to 
buy for him a pleasant country house 
somewhere in the vicinity of Paris. 

Joseph Bonaparte failed to discover 
exactly what was wanted, but while 
N. was conducting the Egyptian 
campaign a new residence was being 
prepared for him in France. For 
Josephine, having heard in 1798 that 
the chateau of Malmaison, near Rueil, 
was for sale, had purchased it straig-ht- 
way ; and now she was busily employed 



211 



HOMES 

altering- and making- additions to the 
house. Her pet ambition, it trans- 
pires, was to make this home of hers 
a rival of the Trianon of Marie An- 
toinette; and, whether N. shared his 
wife's whim in this respect or not, he 
seems to have hked Malmaison well. 
Garnering into it many fine modern 
pictures, prominent among" them being 
sundry illustrations to Ossian, he like- 
wise g^loriiied the mansion with various 
relics of antiquity, these including 
some specimens of Egyptian and also 
of Etruscan art, which was specially 
admired in France at this epoch, and 
was regarded as a very exemplar by 
numerous French artists of the day. 

Though the architectural additions 
to Malmaison must be credited to 
Josephine rather than to her husband, 
he was certainly responsible for that 
rehabilitation of the Tuileries carried 
out shortly after the inception of the 
Consulate. This Parisian palace, so 
closely associated withi the trag-ic 
career of Louis XVI. had suffered 
terribly during- the Revolution ; but on 
Bonaparte acquiring the place he be- 
came earnestly desirous, as a French 
writer on the subject puts, it, "de 
rendre aux Tuileries leur ancienne 
physionomie de residence souveraine." 
And, accordingly, he added a Salle 
du Conseil, together with a Salle des 
Mar^ohaux ; while he reconstructed 
the theatre completely, and enlarged 
the chapel. For his other Parisian 
home, the H6tel de I'Elys^e-Napol^on 
— given back to hlim by Murat on 
the latter leaving France toi assume 
the sceptre of his Neapolitan king- 
dom^ — ^he seems to have felt less 
fondness ; but to the chateau of St. 
Cloud, near Sfevres, he made various 
additions, and into lit he put many 
of his pictures, though perhaps not 
so many as into the Tuileries. 

Two other country palaces of whioh 
N. began to make use, as time went 
on, were Compi^g^ne and Fontaine- 
bleau, the former hard by Beauvais, 
famous for its tapestry, the latter not 
far from Melun. One of the most 
ancient of the French regal dwel- 
lings, Gompi^gne was a favourite 
abode with Clovis, and Charlemagne 
was wont — according to the shadowy 
records of early France — to assemble 



HOMES 

his Paladins there; while it was 
at this mansion, long- years after- 
wards, that Louis XV. first made 
the acquaintance of Marie Antoinette, 
newly arrived from Austria to marry 
the Dauphin. Eager to recall for 
Marie Louise a certain arbour which 
she had loved particularly at her 
former home of Schonbrunn, N. 
charged his gardeners at Compi^gne 
to attempt the creation of some sort 
of copy thereof. He also built a 
g-allery flanked with pilasters, the 
ceiling- being decorated by the 
painter Girodet ; while the Emperor's 
nuptial chamber, which may be seen 
still very much as he left it, was 
fitted with a vast, tent-like bed, a 
resplendent mirror, and a huge, glit- 
tering- chandelier, together vv^ith tables 
and chairs which are imposing but 
rather cumbersome — a style of furni- 
ture which Bonaparte was specially 
fond of for a while, as witness the 
backgrounds in some of Louis David's 
pictures. Though scarcely so old a 
place as Compline, Fontainebleau is 
nevertheless almost equally rich in 
historic associations ; and much has 
been written about it, not only for 
this reason, but on account of its 
situation in that forest of Barbizon 
which is sacred to the memory of 
Corot and other French masters of 
landscape - palinting. Shortly after 
coming- to Imperial power N. ex- 
pended nearly 12,000,000 francs on 
restoring Fontainebleau and adding 
thereto. His name, according-ly, is 
ineradicably associated with parts of 
the edifice, while one of the relics 
preserved there to-day is a jewel- 
cabinet which belonged to Marie 
Louise; yet it is not the presence of 
this and kindred things which makes 
the palace so redolent of Bonaparte ; 
it is eloquent of him, rather, because 
it Was here, in the Cour du Cheval 
Blanc, that he bade his memorable 
adieu to his life-guardsmen. 

Being anything but the man to 
accept misfortunes without struggling 
valiantly against them, Bonaparte, on 
being banished to Elba, made every 
effort to preserve his Imperial dignity 
there; and, besides continuing to exact 
fi'om his entourage the formalities he 
had been accustomed to in France, he 



212 



HOMES 

strove to signify his importance by 
taking- to himself a number of separate 
homes in his island empire. On arriv- 
ing at the capital, Portoferraio, he took 
up 'his abode at the Hotel de Ville ; 
but, partly because he did not consider 
this place imposing enough for a regal 
dwelling, and partly (it appears) 
because ihe entertained a dread of 
assassination there, he removed 
shortly to the Mulini Palace, situated 
on an eminence just above the town. 
Having around it a pleasant garden, 
rich in fine trees, the Mulini Palace is 
an unassuming white building, rather 
reminiscent of N.'s early home at 
Ajaccio; and the exile entered with 
unwonted zest into the task of renovat- 
ing this house, supervising the whole 
undertaking personally, and going so 
far as to assist in mixing the paint 
for the walls. He had the largest 
room on the ground floor bisected with 
a partition, and constituted the one 
side of it his own salle a manger, the 
other side the dining-room of his 
suite ; while he took care that this 
partition was made so that it could be 
removed easily, his idea being that in 
this way he could obtain from time 
to time the space requisite for state 
functions. N.'s study was made to 
open off his bedroom, nor did the Em- 
peror lack boO'ks with which to fur- 
nish it, for he had brought the bulk 
of his library with him, from Fontaine- 
bleau. The fine service of plate he 
had used there had likewise been sent 
to Elba, but, thougfh rich in this 
respect, N. found himself sadly in 
need of furniture for his new home, 
nor was he in a financial position to 
admit of his investing largely in chairs 
and tables. He was delighted, accord- 
ingly, on hearing that a ship bearing 
the furniture of Prince Borghese, the 
husband of Pauline Bonaparte, had 
been driven ashore at Portoferraio; 
and he hastened to confiscate this 
windfall, giving as excuse for the act 
his relationship to the robbed prince ! 
N. used frequently to go from Elba 
to the neighbouring island of Pianosa, 
and on his sister Pauline coming to 
Elba he found the wherewithal to 
gratify her request for a residence 
there. At this place, called San Mar- 
tino, he himself used to stay often, in 



HORSEMANSHIP 

fact as often as anywhere else in his 
island empire. Glorified in old maps 
of Elba with the name of Maison 
Imperiale, San Martino is in reality a 
mere cottage ; yet it is beautifully 
situated amid trees, and N. found 
great pleasure in arranging- it, especi- 
ally in conducting the creation of what 
he called the Egyptian Room. No real 
Egyptian relics were here, it must be 
owned — 'but the Emperor, chancing to 
have in his library a large illustrated 
work on the land of the Pharaohs, 
had a number of these duly copied 
on toi the walls, the artist who was 
commissioned to do this being an 
Italian, Ravelli. He also took posses- 
sion of yet another home, an old her- 
mitage situated high up on the side 
of a mountain. "I find myself very 
comfortably established," he wrote to 
Bertrand concerning this abode, 
known to the Elbans as La Madonna 
del Monte; and well might the Em- 
peror be pleased, the hermitage being 
an altogether delectable home. Well 
supplied with water, for a spring rises 
near by, the place also afforded great 
privacy, while it commanded a superb 
view; and here, far from the storm 
and stress of the world, Bonaparte 
used to sit for hours on a rock still 
called the Sedia di Napoleone ; here, 
gazing seawards, he must have dreamt 
often of his great past, and perhaps 
indulged in visions of conquests to 
come. 

With N.'s departure from, Elba the 
history of his palaces, real or so-called, 
comes to an abrupt end, and with his 
defeat at Waterloo the history of his 
prisons begins. See St. Helena. 

Horsemanship.— Regarding N.'s 
horsemanship. Constant says: "The 
Emperor was not a graceful horseman, 
nor do I think that he would have had 
a firm seat if great care had not always 
been taken to provide him with a horse 
that was thoroughly broken in. To 
this end all sorts of precautions were 
taken. The horses intended for the 
Emperor's personal use had to under- 
go a very rough training before they 
had the honour of carrying him. They 
were taught to bear pain without even 
wincing, being struck repeatedly over 
the head and the ears with a whip. 
Pistols and maroon rockets were let 



213 



HUNTING 

off in their ears ; drums were beaten 
and flag"s were waved close to their 
eyes, while heavy obstacles — some- 
times live sheep and pigs — were Rung 
under their hoofs. In the middle of 
the fastest gfallop the Emperor liked 
to pull his horse up short, so all his 
mounts had to be trained accordingly. 
In a word, they had to be thoroughly 
broken in. Jardin pdre. His Majesty's 
head groom, discharged this difficult 
task with much ability and address ; 
the Emperor, in fact, set great store 
by him. 

" His Majesty always made a point 
of having the handsomest horses he 
could get, and during the last years 
of his reign he only rode Arabs. 
Styr^ia was one of his pet mounts ; 
he rode her at Saint-Bernard and at 
Marengo, after which latter campetign 
he desired his favourite to end her 
days in peace. Indeed, toi have gone 
through Saint-Bernard and the grand 
battle at MarengO' was in itself no- 
mean record. For some years, too, 
the Emperor had an Arab horse of 
rare instinct, of which he was very 
fond. All the while it was waiting for 
its rider it did not seem at all grace- 
ful, but directly the drums beat to 
announce the Emperor's coming it 
drew itself up proudly, shook its mane 
and pawed the ground with its foot, 
and so long as the Emperor was in the 
saddle it looked the handsomest steed 
imaginable. His Majesty was parti- 
cular as to his grooms, nor was the 
training of his pages neglected in any 
respect. They were taught to acquire 
a firm, gTaceful seat; some of their 
equestrian feats would have been more 
suitable at a circus. Indeed, it was 
one of Franooni's ring-masters who 
had the teaching of the pages." 

Hunting.— Regarding the Em- 
peror's lack of enthusiasm for sport, 
Constant says : "The Emperor liked 
hunting and sport only so far as it 
was in conformity with Royal custom. 
Yet I have seen him go in for it with 
such zest as would make one believe 
that it did not bore him. One day he 
hunted in the Rambouillet Forest from: 
six in the morning till eight at night; 
a stag was the cause of this unusual 
excursion, and I remember that he 
came back without havinsf run it to 



HUNTING 

ground. At one of the Imperial meets 
at Rambouillet, the Empresis Josephine 
being present, a stag, to escape its 
pursuers, rushed under the Empress's 
carriage. Such shelter did not prove 
treacherous, for Her Majesty, moved 
to pity at the poor animal's terror, 
besought the Emperor to let it go 
free. So the stag was set at liberty, 
and kind-hearted Josephine herself put 
a silver collar round its neck as proof 
of its deliverance, and as a safeguard 
against other sportsmen. 

"One of the Empress's ladies-in- 
waiting, however, did not show her- 
self so tender-hearted ; and her callous 
reply to the Emperor proved singularly 
displeasing to him, wihoi in women 
prized gentleness and sympathy. For 
some hours they had been hunting in 
the Boiis de Boulogne. The Emperor 
approached the Empress's carriage, 
and began talking to the lady in ques- 
tion, who bore one of the oldest and 
noblest names of France, and who, 
without wishing it, had been placed 
beside the Empress. The Prince of 
Neuchatel came up to say that the 
stag had been brought to bay. 
' Madam,' quoth the Emperor gal- 
lantly to Mme. de C. , ' what is your 
pleasure that we do to the stag? I 
place its fate in your hands. ' ' Do' 
what you like with it, Sire,' was her 
answer ; ' I am not in the least inter- 
ested in it.' The Emperor stared 
coldly at her, and said to the Master 
of the Hunt, ' As the stag is so unfor- 
tunate as not toi interest Mme. de C, 
it does not deserve tO' live ; so let it be 
killed.' Hereupon the Emperor 
turned his horse's head and rode off. 
He was shocked at the lady's unfeel- 
ing reply, and he repeated it to others 
that evening, after the hunt was over, 
in terms by no means flattering to 
Mme. de C. 

" In the ' Memorials of Saint- 
Helena ' it is affirmed that the Em- 
peror, wihile out hunting, was knocked 
down and hurt by a wild boar, receiv- 
ing a serious injury to one of his 
fingers, I never saw such a thing 
happen, nor did I ever hear that such 
an accident had befallen His Majesty. 

" The Emperor had an awkward way 
of holding his gun, usually loading 
this with a big charge, so that, as he 



214 



HYDE 

did not keep it firmly planted ag-ainst 
his shoulder, the rifle kicked and 
bruised his arm till lit was black and 
blue. I used to rub the contused part 
with eau-de-Colog^ne, and then His 
Majesty thoug'ht no more about it. 

'* On one occasion the Emperor tried 
hunting-, with the falcon on the Ram- 
bouillet plains; but the essay was 
scarcely a success, nor did he care to 
repeat it." 

Hyde de Neuville, Jean Guil- 
laume, Baron (1776-1857).— Was 
bom at! La Charit6-sur-Loire (Ni^vre) 
on 24 Jan. 1776, son of Guillaume 
Hyde descended • from an English 
Jacobite wlho went into exile after 
CuUoden. He became famous as a 
French Royalist, and has left interest- 
ing* "Memoirs" covering- the period 
of the French Revolution and the 
Napoleonic reg^ime. When only 
seventeen he successfully defended a 
man whom Fouche denounced before 
the revolutionary tribunal of Nevers. 
From 1793 onwards all his time and 
activities were devoted to the cause 
of the exiled princes, and he partici- 
pated in the royalist rising- in Berry 
in 1796. At the time of the coup 
d'etat of 18 Brumaire (9 Nov. 
1799) Hyde de Neuville was planning 
a fresh reorganization of the royalists 
and amongst other efforts tried to per- 
suade Bonaparte to recall the Bour- 
bons. Through Talleyrand an inter- 
view was arranged. His impressions 
of N. he recorded as follows : "The 
door opened. Instinctively I looked 
at the man who came in, short, thin, 
his hair plastered on his temples, his 
step hesitating ; he was not in the least 
what I had pictured to myself. I was 
so much wanting in perception that I 
took him for a servant, a mistake 
which was confirmed when he walked 
across the roomi without taking any 
notice of me. He leaned his back 
against the chimney-piece, raised his 
head and looked at me with such an 
impressive, such a penetrating glance 
that I lost all my assurance under the 
fire of that questioning eye. To me 
he had suddenly grown taller by a 
hundred cubits." The negotiations 
came to naught, and he was accused 
of complicity in the bomb conspiracy 
of 1800, though this was retracted. 



IBBETSON 

On the anniversary of Louis XVL's 
death in 1800, he and his brother had 
the daring to drape the portico of the 
Madeleine with a black curtain, to 
which they attached the Testament of 
Louis XVL Another time Hyde de 
Neuville plastered the pedestal of the 
statue of Liberty with copies of the 
proclamation issued by the Comte 
d'Artois. The statue was guarded by 
a sentinel, but the audacious royalist 
accomplished his purpose by following 
the man round the four sides of the 
pedestal. In 1807 he retired to 
America, and there met Moreau whom, 
it is said, his arguments converted to 
the royalist cause. In 1814 he re- 
turned to Europe, and his ship was 
greeted by a pilot off the English coast 
with the tidings that N. was in, Elba 
and Louis XVIII. at Paris. He was 
employed by that King in the negotia- 
tions with the British Government to 
induce themi toi transfer N. to a 
remoter and safer place than Elba, but 
this business was ended by the Em- 
peror's return to France in March 
181 5. On the second Restoration he 
became ambassador at Lisbon. His 
schemes there broke down, and he 
returned to Paris, taking his seat in 
the Chamber of Deputies. Despite his 
Royalism, he developed Liberal ten- 
dencies, and was minister of marine 
under the Moderate, Martignac. He 
was one of the active sympathisers 
with the struggle for Greek in- 
dependence. After the revolution of 
1830 he was one of the few who pro- 
tested against the exclusion of the 
legitimate line of the Bourbons and 
resigned his seat. He died in Paris in 
May 1857. 



Ibbetson, Commissary Denzil.— 

From various sources w^e gather that 
Commissary Denzil Ibbetson went out 
to St. Helena along with N., took up 
his abode in a house at Hut's Gate, 
and! at the end of 1817 was promoted 
to the Longwood purveyorship, which 
up till then had been in the hands of 
Balcombe and his firm. Whilst acting 
in this capacity he instituted a system 
of cheques which gave serious offence 
to Bonaparte ; yet the interest attach- 



215 



iBBETSON 

ing- to Ibbe^tson does not lie in this 
fact, but rather in the various draw- 
ings he made of the imperial captive. 
First among" these we may mention one 
embodying" two full-length figures, the 
one depicting the back of the Em- 
peror, the other showing him leaning 
against the butt end of a cannon, his 
face being seen ,in profile ; but where 
the original of this work is seems 
doubtful ; the foregoing description is 
based on a wood-cut, purporting to be 
"from a sketch, by D. I. on board the 
Northumberland." This wood-cut 
appears to have been published very 
soon after N.'s capture, and the 
draughtsmanship reproduced thereby 
is of rather an amateurish order ; but 
better artistry is found in another pic- 
ture, a water-colour, at the foot of 
which are written the following im- 
portant words in the handwriting of 
Theodore Hook : "This sketch of N. 
was made on board the Northumber- 
land man-of-war on her voyage toi St. 
Helena by Mr. Commissary Ibbetson, 
who gave it to me in that island. 
Theodore E. Hook." In this work 
Bonaparte is again delineated leaning 
agaiinst a cannon, his proverbial cor- 
pulence somewhat emphasized, a very 
morose expression on his face, and his 
big cocked hat drawn over his eyes ; 
while he wears white waistcoat and 
breeches, silk stockings and indoor 
shoes, together with a green coat with 
epaulets, red collar and cuffs — in fact, 
the orthodox coat of the chausseurs 
of the guard, whose uniform the Em- 
peror is known to have worn regularly 
for a considerable time after his cap- 
ture. This fine water-colour, which is 
executed on thick paper, was in the 
possession of an eminent Napoleonic 
scholar, the late Mr. A. M. Broadley, 
who possessed several further works by 
Ibbetson, two of whichi are specially 
interesting, the subject in either case 
being Bonaparte standing beside his 
fellow-exiles, Bertrand and Las Cases. 
We may note in conclusion that in 
May 1817 a London publisher, 
Hassell, issued a print entitled Napo- 
leon Buonaparte and Four of his Suite, 
the four being Las Cases and Montho- 
lon, Bertrand and Gourgaud, the 
former pair figured to the right of the 
Emperor, the latter to the left. This 



ILARI 

engraving was for many years sup- 
posed to be the work of no less dis- 
tinguished a caricaturist than George 
Cruickshank, but not long ago Sir 
Frederick Treves, in a letter 
addressed to the public press, main- 
taiined stoutly that the artist of this 
quintet was not Cruickshank, but 
Ibbetson. Certainly comparing this 
print to those known definitely to be 
from the latter's hand we find a con- 
siderable amount of reason for Sir 
Frederick Treves's assertion j but, at 
the same time, there is a cleverness 
throughout which we are inclined tO' 
think beyond Ibbetson's ability ; and 
the probability is that Cruickshank 
engraved the plate, utilizing drawings 
sent home by the Commissary, but 
embellishing them from his own fancy. 
Ilari, Camilla; N.'s wet-nurse.— 
Though Leti^ia Buonaparte had in 
accordance with Corsican custom 
nursed her children herself, yet in the 
case of N. she had found it necessary 
to employ a wet-nurse, Camilla Ilari, 
a sailor's wife. A strong affection 
existed between foster-mother and 
child, whilst her children were the con- 
stant playmates of Joiseph and N. 
when they used toi watch the soldiers 
at the citadel or play on the shore and 
mid the boats down in the bay. There 
were two boys, Santo and Ignazioi 
Ilarii, and a girl, Giovanna, to whose 
daughter Faustina N. stood godfather 
in 1787. When returning from the 
Egyptian campaign N. landed at 
Ajaccio, among the crowd there to 
greet him was Camilla Ilari, who 
called out to him "Caro figlio." She 
repeated it several times before he 
heard, but directly he did his answer 
was "Madre." The woman was over- 
joyed, and presented him wlith a bottle 
of milk, saying: "My son, I have 
given you already the milk of my 
heart, and have nothing now to offer 
but the milk of my goat." When N. 
was at Brienne he never forgot to 
mention Camilla and her children, and 
in his days of greatness did not forget 
them. He said to Antom^marchi at 
St. Helena: "She desired to be 
present at my coronation and came to 
Paris for the purpose. She amused 
me much with her stories, her lively 
animated manner, and the Genoese 



216 



ILLYRIA 

gesticulations with which she em- 
phasized her remarks. She pleased 
Josephine and the family, and the 
Pope was enchanted with her ; he gave 
her many blessing-s, and did not con- 
ceal from me his surprise at her good 
sense and her sallies." N. also pre- 
sented her grand-daughter to the ladies 
of the court, introducing her as " My 
foster-niece." To his nurse N. gave 
large sums of money and vineyards, 
and would also have given her the 
ancestral Buonaparte house only that 
the rest of the family objected. To 
make up for this she was given the 
Ramolino house in exchange. Even 
in his will she was not forgotten : "I 
suppose she is rich; but if by any 
chance all that I have done for her has 
turned out unfortunately, my executors 
will not leave her in misery." 

Strangely enough, Ignazioi Ilari, her 
son, entered the British Navy and ulti- 
mately fougfht against France, but this 
was quite in accordance with the Cor- 
sican tradition and admiration of 
things English, a feeling ^vlhioh always 
persisted in N. himself. The husband 
of Camilla clung to N. with tenacious 
loyalty to the last, and only in 1816 
did he give in his submission tO' any 
other power. 

Illyria. — The name given to a part 
of the Balkan Peninsula and compris- 
ing the modern provinces of Dalmatia 
and the little Republic of Ragusa, both 
of which came under French rule in 
1806. The Illyrian provinces served 
as a strong barrier agaiinst Austria, 
which N. was anxious to retain. The 
coast, he thought, would make good 
sheltered harbours for a fleet and 
supply ports for the departure of an 
expedition into Egypt. Inland, roads 
could be made for route marches, as 
the climate and scenery suited the 
French temperament. At present all 
was savage and barbarous and the 
inhabitants poor. Ragusa, on the 
other hand, was peopled with a more 
prosperous class of merchants and 
even some aristocracy. Their sym- 
pathies lay with Venice, Austria, and 
Hungary, and Marmont was sent to 
Illyria to win them over to the French. 
Different reports were sent back to the 
government ooncerningf the successes 
and failures of Marmont and others. 



INDIA 

Marmont's "Memoirs" paint a brilliant 
picture of the improvements he was 
able to achieve in the country ; and 
in the archives of Paris one may find 
still more evidence of the prosperity 
of its inhabitants. 

Imola, Battle of. — An engage- 
ment of one of N.'s Italian campaigns, 
which took place on 3 Feb. 1797. 
French troops to the number of 8,000 
under Victor succeeded in taking a 
force of Papal troops (7,000) in the 
rear, and utterly routed them. No 
stand was made, so the losses were 
insignificant. 

Imperial Rece$s of 1803, The.— 
Was another stage on the road to th© 
establishment of a united Germany. 
It came into force in 1803 and lasted 
until 1806, which year saw the de-. 
struction of the Holy Roman Empire. 
At this juncture many territorial 
alterations were effected betweeri 
different states ; while cities and even 
abbeys were removed from the juris- 
diction of one principality to that of 
another. Of the petty priinces of Ger- 
many only three remained in power. 
The free cities were reduced from fifty 
to six, and the Germany of mediaeval 
times was no more. 

India.— The condition of Europe 
during the eighteenth century and well 
intoi the next continued to be one of 
complete disorder. Power sought to 
overthrow power. France in particu- 
lar took up the offensive, and her 
ambition was only equalled by that of 
Great Britain. The fate of India, one 
of the latter's largest colonies, hung 
in the balance. After the Treaty of 
Amiens was signed, a large French 
expeditionary force was sent to India. 
In 1807 Caulaincourt, the French am- 
bassador in Russia, was instructed to 
hold out the prospect of a joint Franco^ 
Russian expedition against India. 
Briefly, N.'s eastern scheme was to 
gain command of the seas, and in the 
conquest of India he saw the principal 
obstacle to this plan removed. But 
trouble with Finland and a rising in 
Spain at the end of that year obliged 
him to postpone his naval efforts, and 
consequently his dreams of Oriental 
conquest. Meanwhile a commercial 
war was in progress against Great 
Britain, and it was prohibited to buy- 



217 



INFANTRY 

or sell Eng-lish goods in France under 
threat of punishment. This law also 
applied to India, but during- Welles- 
ley's career as governor-general a vast 
expansion of commerce and finance 
was opened up under his firm rule. 
The question of free trade was opposed 
by one, Charles Grant, chairman of 
the court of Directors, who was un- 
fortunately destined to become Welles- 
ley 'st successor. The French ambi- 
tions did not dominate the history of 
India to any appreciable extent, 
although its future was influenced by 
the advent of N. 

Infantry Tactics.— Infantry tac- 
tics under N. were strong on the 
side of cohesion. The loose order 
which had obtained in the old Royalist 
army of France and to a great extent 
in the Revolutionary ranks was quite 
discountenanced by him, and ihe even 
required that skirmishers should be 
closely connected with the main body. 
N.'s infantry usually went into action 
as skirmishers, column and line. 
Column consisted of two lines of 
battalions in columns of double com- 
panies, was employed for attack, and 
as the defensive was rare in a Napo- 
leonic battle those troops disposed in 
column were usually the most employed. 
The line formation was used more 
to break down the enemy's strength 
by its fire than by direct shock, but 
the two were sometimes combined. 
By far the greater number of troops 
were used in column, the proportion 
usually being as four to one. 

N.'s infantry tactics leant to what 
is known as "economy of force." 
That is, he launched an attack or "pre- 
paration " (see Strategy) by which 
he enchained the attention of the 
enemy. Those who composed this 
preparatory force practically sacrificed 
themselves — but the occupation of the 
enemy, who was usually forced toi 
briing up his reserves, gave N. the 
opportunity to discover the weak spot 
in the opposing ranks, with the result 
that he was enabled to hurl the re- 
mainder of his forces upon it at the 
psychological moment. They pene- 
trated the gap made by his artillery, 
and entering it with sloped arms were 
followed by cavalry divisions, which 
completed the enemy's rout. "Firing 



IRON 

is everything, the rest matters little," 
said N., who was no great believer in 
the bayonet. To destroy the fire 
power of one's adversary was the 
tactical problem of the day. 

Ingres, Jean Auguste Domin- 
ique (1780-1867).— French painter. 
See Painting and Pictures. 

Ionian Islands. — The collective 
name for the seven Greek islands of 
Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Santa 
Maura, Ithaca, Cythera and Paxo. As 
a result of the campaign of the Second 
Coalition in 1799, the Ionian Islands 
were taken by Russia, but in 1801 
they became independent. By the 
secret articles signed at Tilsit these 
islands were ceded to N., the occupa- 
tion of which gave him vantage 
ground in the Turkis.h E'mpire equal 
to that of Russia on the banks of the 
Dniester. In 181 5 they came under 
the protectorate of Great Britain, 
which was recognized by the four 
allied Powers on 5 Nov. 

Iron Crown (of Lombardy). — 
With which N. crowned himself King 
of Italy at Milan on 26 May 1805, with 
the words "Dieu me I'a donn^e ; gare 
a qui y touchera " ; is formed of gold 
and precious stones set in a thin ring 
of iron, said tO' have been forged from 
a nail of the true cross. It had been 
made, the legend says, by the order 
of Theudelinde for her husband 
Agilulf, King of the Longobards, 591. 
She then presented it as a gift to the 
church at Monza. Charlemagne was 
crowned with this crown, and after 
him all the emperors who were kings 
of Lombardy. The order of the " Iron 
Crown of Italy " was instituted by N. 
on 26 May 1805, but was abolished in 
1 81 4, to be revived, however, by the 
Emperor of Austria, 12 Feb. 181 6. 
On the re-establishment of the king- 
dom of Italy (1861), the order was in- 
stituted by Victor Emmanuel, into 
whose keeping the Iron Crown had 
passed. 

Iron -Mask, Man in the.— Con- 
versing upon this topic during his 
captivity, someone told N. that when 
employed in making out a pedigree a 
person had come to 'him to demon- 
strate seriously that N. was a lineal 
descendant from the Man in the Iron 
Mask (whom he held to have been a 



218 



IRON 

twin brother of Louis XIV.), and 
consequently the leg-itimate heir of 
Louis XIIL and Henry IV. The Em- 
peror remarked that he had heard 
something about the matter, and the 
company then proceeded to trace the 
foundation and progress of this story. 
Concerning" this conversation Las 
Cases says: "The name of the 
governor of the Island of St, Mar- 
guerite, to whom the custody of the 
Iron Mask was entrusted, was M. de 
Bonpart, a circumstance, to begin 
with, very singular. This man, it was 
asserted, was aware of the origin of 
his prisoner. He had a daughter : she 
and the prisoner were both young : 
they saw each other and loved. The 
governor, having informed the court 
of this circumstance, it was decided 
that there was no great objection to 
allowing the unfortunate captive to 
seek in love an alleviation of his 
misery, and they were married, 

*' The person who was speaking at 
this moment said that, at the time the 
above particulars were related tO' him, 
he had been very mudh entertained by 
them, and had happened to say that 
he thought the story very ingeniously 
imagined; upon which the narrator of 
4t became excessively angry, main- 
taining that the marriage could very 
easily be verified by the registers of 
one of the parishes of Marseilles, 
which he named. He added that the 
children born of this marriage were 
silently and secretly conveyed to Cor- 
sica, where the difference of language, 
chance, or perhaps intention had 
changed the name of Bonpart into 
Bonaparte and Buonaparte, which, 
after all, has the same meaning and is 
in fact the same thing, 

"After this anecdote it was added 
that, at the time of the Revolution, 
a similar story had been made in 
favour of the Orleans branch. It was 
founded in a document found in the 
Bastille, and surmised that Anne of 
Austria, who was brought to bed after 
twenty-three years of sterility, had 
been delivered of a girl, and that 
Louis XIIL, fearing she might have 
no more children, had been induced 
to put away that girl and falsely to 
substitute in her stead a boy, which 
was Louis XIV. ; that the following 



ITALIAN 

year, however, the Queen had been 
again brought to bed, and this time 
really of a boy, which boy was Philip, 
the head of the House of Orleans, who 
thus turned out to be with his 
descendants the legitimate heirs to the 
throne, whilst Louis XIV, and his 
issue were only intruders and 
usurpers. According to that story the 
Iron Mask was a girl. A pamphlet 
on this subject was circulated in the 
provinces at the time the Bastille was 
taken, but the story did not gain 
credit, and very quietly disappeared, 
without having, it seems, engaged the 
attention of the capital even for a 
moment." 

Isabey, Jean Baptiste (1767- 
1859).— French painter. See Paint- 
ing. 

Italian Campaigns (1796-1797 
and 1799-1800).— Before N, appeared 
as a military leader hostilities of an 
irregular nature had occurred between 
France and certain of the Italian 
states. In 1792 the Army of the Alps 
under Montesquieu had come into 
collision with the Sardinian force 
occupying Savoy, and an "Army of 
Italy " was dispatched to Nice in a 
French fleet to assist the French 
leader against the encroaching Sar- 
dinians. The proclamation of a 
French Republic found France sur- 
rounded by enemies, but yet intruding 
on their territory in nearly every 
instance. French forces had won the 
battle of Loano in 1795 and had come 
into possession of the valleys leading 
on Turin, while they also held the 
Alpine ridges and the Corniche Pass. 
In 1796 Kellerman was placed in com- 
mand of the Army of the Alps, while 
to the Army of Italy was appointed 
the young General Bonaparte. 
Opposed to him was Beaulieu with a 
mixed army of Sardinians and Aus- 
trians. The French troops were 
miiserably provided with food and 
clothing, money was lacking, and 
tents, camp equipage, hospitals and 
stores were notoriously deficient. The 
cavalry were weak in numbers and 
badly equipped and mounted : such 
were the forces with which N. made 
himself a great military reputation. 
The French Army consisted of seven 
divisions, in all 43,000 men with 



219 



Italian 

60 g^uns. These were under the com- 
mand of La Harpe, Massena, Auger- 
eau, Serurier, Macquard, Garnier, and 
Cervoni. Three divisions occupied the 
Riviera di Savona ; the mountainous 
country between the sources of the 
River Bormida was occupied and the 
most important points were en- 
trenched. Serurier guarded the sources 
of the Tanaro with the cavalry in the 
Riviera, while Macquard and Garnier 
were posted in the valleys leading to 
the Cols di Tenda and Cerise to keep 



ITALIAN 

may be discounted on that head alone. 
Colli had formed the advance-guard 
on the northern Apennines, but 
Argenteau replaced him in April by 
pushing forward into the valleys. But 
his line was so formed that he could 
not concentrate to either flank in less 
than ten hours, and only half of his 
command was at his service. Sum- 
ming up the rival positions, the 
French in the Riviera held the crests 
of the hill range, a very awkward 
position indeed, whilst Beaulieu, 




The Campaigns in Northern Italy 



Up communication with the Army of 
the Alps under Kellerman, which num- 
bered about 20,000 men ; a further 
detachment of 20,000 occupying Pro- 
vence and guarding the coasts. 

The allied forces consisted of the 
main army under Beaulieu, 32,000 
strong, and that of Colli, Sardinians 
and Austrians respectively 20,000 and 
35,000 strong : in all 87,000 men with 
84 guns. Thus N. was outnumbered 
by more than two to one. The Aus- 
trians were further subdivided into a 
right and left wing under Argenteau 
and Sebottendorf ; but sickness had 
been rife in the allied ranks, and 
almost 50 per cent, of their number 



afraid that his force would extend 
northward unduly, watched the moun- 
tain line, being supported by Colli — 
the rest of the army remaining in Lom- 
bardy. Thus his forces were divided, 
one portion being posted in an ex- 
tended line and the other half busy in 
concentration. 

Both armies tooik the offensive. The 
French were in bad case indeed, closed 
in between the mountains and the sea, 
their rear resting on the Mediter- 
ranean, which was commanded by the 
British fleet, with a single road for 
advance, and thus one line of com- 
munication only. The Allies had not 
much the better of it, however, for 



220 



ITALIAN 

they were squandered over a line of 
seventy miles in leng^th, and so pre- 
sented a decidedly scattered front. N., 
however, was thoroug^hly acquainted 
with the Apennines country, which 
Beaulieu was not. The latter's inten- 
tion was to drive the French out of the 
Riviera, seize the Maritime Alps, to 
get into communication with the 
British and to attack the French in 
Provence. N.'s orders from the 
Directory were to take the initiative. 
He saw that the allied forces could 
not be quickly concentrated in the 
mountain district so as to resist a 
sudden attack and that their lines of 
communication were difficult. The 
political aims of the Directory were 
separation of Sardinia from Austria 
and an alliance with it with a view to 
future action in Italy. The instruc- 
tions to N., therefore, were to attack 
the Austrians and merely observe 
Colli at Ceva. Thus a larger portion 
of the enemy could be struck at and 
he would be taken in detail; but N. 
saw more clearly than his advisers, 
and resolved to take his own course. 
On 9 April 1796 he reached Savona 
with his headquarters staff, and deter- 
mined to cross the mountains lying 
between the sources of the Bormida 
with the third division. It is at this 
juncture that the Apennines join the 
Alps. His plan was, with 25,000 men, 
to strike at the place where the allied 
forces came into conjunction : the 
detachments of Serurier and Cervoni 
were to carry out flanking operations 
at Voltri and Garessio in the Tanaro 
valley. Beaulieu anticipated this 
manoeuvre, and on 10 April fought his 
first action at Voltri : his object was 
to attack Cervoni while isolated and 
to roll up the French right. He suc- 
ceeded in establishing communication 
with the English. Argenteau, on the 
gth, received orders to advance to 
Montenotte with a view to bringing 
the Austrian centre into more intimate 
connexion with the left, but La Harpe, 
assisted by Massena, gained the Aus- 
trian flank unpercdved, and success- 
fully attacked Argenteau, who re- 
treated on Spigno with a loss of 2,000 
men. Beaulieu had sent succour to 
Argenteau, but the force did not come 
up with him. N. then decided on 



ITALIAN 

sending Massena and La Harpe 
against Dego and dislodged Colli 's 
left wing at Cencio. The commander 
at Dego sent word to Argenteau that 
he would be glad of assistance. He 
reported this request to Beaulieu, who 
urged him to strain every nerve to 
hold Dego for some days longer. Colli 
was also directed to operate against 
the enemy's left flank. On the 14th 
N. assaulted Dego, the entrenchments 
were carrlied, many guns were captured 
and the garrisons made prisoner. 
Argenteau with the reinforcements 
retired to Acqui. The French at Dego 
were attacked by Wukassowioh, who 
had just come up with reinforcements. 
He drove them out of the entrench- 
ments and captured 19 guns. Mas- 
sena reported this reverse and made a 
vain effort to regain his position. N. 
recalled La Harpe and Massena to his 
assistance, and retook Dego on the 
15th. Having secured this part of the 
field of operations, N. turned again 
against Colli. Wukassowioh re- 
treated to Spigno and Acqui. The 
defeat had not had much effect on the 
morale of the Austrian Army owiing to 
their numerical inferiority. N. now 
turned personally to superintend the 
operations against Colli. Massena 
was ordered with the three divisions 
of Serurier, Augereau and his own to 
move to Ceva, while La Harpe covered 
the movement on the side of Acqui. 
Augereau, pressing Colli's left, 
arrived on the i6th before Ceva, where 
he was joined by Serurier. Colli occu- 
pied the line Ceva-Mondovi with 
15,000 men. On the 19th Ceva was 
attacked and Colli's position turned, 
but he retreated in good order behind 
the Cassaglia, where N. advanced 
against him on the following day. But 
the French dispositions had been made 
hastily, and N. was repulsed with 
great loss. The crisis in N.'s scheme 
had now arrived, retreat would have 
been dangerous, and at the council of 
war held at Lesegno' on the 21st it was 
determined to renew the attack of the 
enemy's position on the following day. 
Colli, however, desired to gain time 
to concentrate with Beaulieu ; he there- 
fore determined not to await attack, 
but to fall back on Mondovi and, 
united with the Austrians, to m.eet the 



221 



ITALIAN 

enemy with greater chances of success. 
The French met with no opposition, 
crossed the Cassagha and descended 
intoi the plains of the Ellero, where 
Colli 's rear-guard was overtaken and 
routed at Viro. He had not time to 
take up a position, but had fixed upon 
one when his main body was vigor- 
ously attacked, and he retired upon 
Fossano' with a loss of about i,ooo 
men and 8 guns. The main object of 
N.'s operations had been fully gained : 
the Allies had been separated, and 
Colli 's retreat was divergent from that 
of Beaulieu. Overtures of peace were 
made by the Sardinian Government, 
and negotiations from Turin resulted 
in the withdrawal of Sardinia from the 
alliance. A separate peace was con- 
cluded with Sardinia : Kellerman and 
the Army of the Alps were now free 
from all immediate danger of attack, 
and the retiral of the Austrians greatly 
enhanced the French position in Italy. 
By 7 May 1796 Beaulieu was in a 
position along the Sesia. On the loth 
N. forced the passage of the Adda at 
Lodi, and the Austrians retired behind 
the Mincio. Beaulieu retreated into 
the Tyrol, and Mantua was besieged. 
The early part of June was occupied 
in securing the neutrality of Naples, 
Tuscany, and the Papal States, and on 
the 29th the citadel of Milan surren- 
dered. In the following month Beau- 
lieu was superseded by Wiirmser, who 
began op^erations on 29 July, and 
divided his forces into two portions, 
one under his own leadership and the 
other under that of Quasdanovitch, 
separated by Lake Garda. N. took 
advantage of the subdivision, raised 
the siege of Mantua, and on the 31st 
drove the Austrians out of Salo. The 
same day Wiirmser entered Mantua, 
and on 2 Aug. advanced to Castig- 
lione. On the 3rd French victories 
occurred simultaneously at Lonato and 
Castlglione, followed by the retreat of 
the Austrians into the Tyrol. Lauer 
was dispatched as chief of staff of the 
Austrian Army, and by his advice a 
strong force was left in the mountains 
at the head of Lake Garda, while the 
main army was moved up the valley 
of the Brenta on Bassano for Legnago 
and Mantua. On 2 Sept. N. defeated 
a covering force at Roveredo, occu- 



ITAL!AN 

pied TrentO', and followed Wiirmser 
down the valley of the Brenta, defeated 
him in a series of combats, finally 
drove him into Mantua, and once more 
set siege to that city. The Austrian 
Army was again reinforced, and 
placed under the supreme command of 
General Alvinzi. N. confronted the 
main army advancing from Gorizza in 
Friuli, while Vaubolis faced that under 
Davidovitch in the mountain passes of 
the Avisio and Upper Adige. Vaubois 
received a check at Galliano, and 
finally retired on the 8th and 9th to 
Rivoli and its neighbourhood. Alvinzi 
had taken up a position on the Brenta 
on 4 Nov. Two days after saw severe 
fighting in that neighbourhood, by 
which the French were compelled to 
retreat to Verona, but they advanced 
again on the nth, fought an indecisive 
battle at Caldiero on the 12th, and once 
more retreated to Verona. Their posi- 
tion was now extremely critical, and 
the army on the Adige was reinforced 
at the expense of that before Mantua. 
N., recognizing- the critical nature of 
things, resolved to cut the communi- 
catioin of Alvinzi with the Tagliamento. 
On the 14th he threw the divisions of 
Massena and Augereau across the 
Adige, but on the folloAving day they 
recrossed the river at Ronco. Then 
ensued a three days' battle at Porcil 
and Areola, on each evening of which 
N. retired behind the Adige. On the 
17th, however, he succeeded in inflict- 
ing a defeat upon Alvinzi, who re- 
treated behind the Brenta. N. then 
left his cavalry to pursue Alvinzi, and 
drove the Austrian forces into the 
Tyrol. The end of the year was occu- 
pied by severe pressure upon Mantua, 
but the reorganized Austrian Army 
advanced on 7 Jan. 1797, throwing 
out a force to Padua, while the re- 
mainder moved from Bassano. On the 
14th of the month the Austrians were 
defeated at Rivoli and retreated behind 
the Drave, and on the i6th Provera 
was defeated at La Favorita, near 
Mantua — a sortie from the garrison 
of which was at the same time re- 
pulsed. On 2 Feb, Mantua capitu- 
lated. 

The disorganized Army of Italy was 
taken in command duriing the early 
part of Feb. by the Archduke Charles 



222 



ITALIAN 

of Austria (q.v.). The population of 
the Tyrol was roused to action, and 
the advanced posts of the army moved 
forward to the Piave. Joubert was 
watching" the Tyrol on the French side, 
and his orders were to clear out all 
hostile forces and join N. in the valley 
of the Drave. On lo March the 
French advanced and fought a series 
of battles : a decisive result was gained 
on the i6th-2ist in the battles near 
the Tagliamento. On the 28th the 
French Army, with the exception of 
Joubert's forces, was concentrated on 
the Drave. On 18 April 1797 the pre- 
liminaries of peace were signed at Leo- 
ben, which formed the basis for the 
treaty of Campo Formio, which was 
sligned on 17 Oct. of the same year, 
and N. returned to Paris in Nov. 

During the remainder of 1797 and 
the whole of 1798 no events of military- 
importance took place in Italy except 
an unimportant campaign between 
Neapolitan troops under Mack and 
the French under Championnet, which 
resulted in the capture of Naples early 
in the following year; but the close 
of 1798 saw the formation of the 
Second Coalition, when Russia and 
Turkey made common cause with 
Great Britain and the German peoples 
against France. 

In 1799 the French Republic made 
the passage of Russian troops into^ 
the Empire a casus belli, and de- 
clared war on 12 March. An Aus- 
trian army, commanded by Melas, 
was opposed by the French general 
Sch^rer. Fighting along the Adige 
resulted on 26 March, in a French 
defeat. On 5 April another French 
defeat at Magnano was followed by 
a retreat behind the Mincio. On the 
15th of the month Suvarov arrived 
with a larg-e Russian reinforcement, 
and assumed command on the 26th. 
After the battle of Cassano the French 
retreated, and Moreau was appointed 
general of the army. About the middle 
of May the Army of Naples, now under 
Macdonald, moved by Bologna to unite 
with Moreau, and effected a junction 
with him on 14 June. Macdonald was 
defeated on the Trebbia on 19 June, 
and retreated into Tuscany. On the 
20th Moreau attacked the detachment 
under Bellegarde at San GluHano, but 



ITALIAN 

was finally obliged toi retreat to the 
Genoa coast, where he was joined by 
what was left of Macdonald's army on 
17 July. On 9 Aug. the battle of 
Novi was fought, in which Joubert 
was killed. Moreau led the army to 
the mountain passes over Genoa, and 
then left to take up the command of 
the Army of the Rhine — Championnet 
being appointed to the command of 
the armies of the Alps and Italy. On 
4 Nov. the Battle of Genoa was 
fougiht, in which Championnet was 
defeated. Italy and the French 
armies therein were now much in the 
same position as when N. was first 
appointed to their command. 

By Sept. 1799 the Allies may be said 
to have been almost in full occupation 
of Italy. Suvarov had entered Swit- 
zerland by the St. Gothard pass in 
Aug-., and by doing so he was forced 
into a policy of retreat by Massena, 
and evacuated Switzerland with his 
armies at the end of Oct., returning 
to Russia. Massena thus held Swit- 
zerland. By this time N. had been 
appointed First Consul. 

On the departure of Suvarov, 
Melas had assumed the conduct of 
operations in Italy. He had gK>ne 
to winter quarters in Piedmont and 
Lombardy, throwing advanced posts 
into the Northern Apennines, where 
he confronted Massena, who, with the 
remnants of the once formidable Army 
of Italy, held the mountains and passes 
between Genoa and Nice. Melas was 
supposed to be working in concert 
with Kray, who was in command of 
the Army of the Danube, but com- 
munication between themi was inter- 
rupted by the French occupation of 
Switzerland, so that it was almost 
impossible for them to keep in touch 
with one another. The first movement 
that should have been attempted was 
certainly a frontal attack upon Swit- 
zerland from the side of the Tyrol, 
but one failure had been suffidient for 
the Aulic Council, which did not desire 
a second taste of mountain warfare. 
This neglect of Switzerland in the 
Allied plan of operations has been 
most severely censured, but it did not 
partake of the nature of accident, and 
there is every proof that the Aulic 
Council considered it less dangerous 



323 



ITALIAN 

tO' negflect Switzerland in the circum- 
stances than to attack it. Ag-ain, a 
single vigorous effort launched against 
Mass^na would theoretically sever his 
extended line and destroy his com- 
munication with the French frontier. 
The importance of the Allied co-opera- 
tion with the British fleet received due 
recog'nition : indeed, upon it hinged 
the entire success of the plan of cam- 
jjaign. It was thoug'ht that a Britis^h 
force might be landed between Toulon 
and the mouth of the Var, where by 
the line of that river it would be taken 
in reverse and the scene of the war 
transferred to French territory. The 
First Consul would thus be forced to 
concentrate his attention towards the 
south, and his reinforcements would 
necessarily be turned to stem this 
invasion, whereby Moreau's action on 
the Rhine would be paralysed, and the 
Austrian general, Kray, be left free 
to enter Switzerland or France, as 
might be approved by circumstances. 
The French Army of Liguria num- 
bered about 36,000 men, of which 
30,000 were available for the defence 
of Genoa and of the Riviera generally. 
It was divided into three corps, the 
right being commanded by Soult, the 
centre by Suohet, and the left by Thur- 
reaud, which numbered respectively 
18,000, 12,000 and 6,000 troops. The 
first two of these were divided into 
three divisions. With 30,000 men, 
therefore, Mass^na occupied a line 
nearly eighty miles in extent from 
Tenda to Genoa, running nearly 
parallel to the sea, which was im- 
mediately in its rear, and was then 
closely watched by a British squad- 
ron under Lord Keith. Communica- 
tion with France must either be 
effected from the extreme left of 
the position, or be altogether aban- 
doned. The neighbourhood was 
sterile, sparsely occupied and offered 
no means of subsistence, and Genoa 
was provisioned for a few weeks 
only. Add to that that Mass6na was 
confronted in the northern slopes of 
the Apennines by an adversary three 
times stronger than himself, and it 
will be seen that his prospects were 
indeed gloomy. N. had laid the 
greatest stress upon the preservation 
of Genoa. It protected the French 



ITALIAN 

frontiers, and from it advantageous 
operations might be made. Here, if 
anywhere, Mass^na might discover a 
solution to the extremely difficult 
problem which had 'been set him. 
The Austrian Army of Italy presented 
quite a formidable front. Melas relied 
upon a rapid and secret concentration 
in the early spring to enable him to 
strike where a blow would be least 
expected. He had been largely rein- 
forced during the winter months, and 
the entire forces at his command 
already amounted to 110,000 men of 
all arms. His three corps were 
commanded by Kaim, with 27,000 
men, Melas, who led the centre, with 
43,000, and Ott, who commanded the 
left, with 15,000 ; and there were other 
divisions in Lombardy, Venetia and 
Tuscany which are not included in this 
estimate. Towards the end of March 
1800 Melas drew in his detachments 
upon Acqui, and concentrated against 
the centre of Massena's line. At the 
beginning of April Melas took the 
direct offensive against Massena. On 
the 8th his right wing- dislodg-ed the 
French froim Mont Cenis, and on 
the 25th Massena was reported by 
Berthier as being seriously attacked. 
N., convinced that Massena's army 
was closely pressed, ordered Berthier 
to march with 40,000 men at once by 
way of the St. Bernard pass. Berthier 
replied that he had only 25,000 effect- 
ive troops, but those he had were sent 
forward without supplies or proper 
equipment. At the beg^inning of May 
Massena had been shut up with his 
right wing- in Genoa, and Suchet with 
the left wing driven back to the Var, 
but Moreau had secured a success at 
Stokach, and N.'s Army of Reserve 
had begun to move to Geneva. N.'s 
plan now was that Massena should 
resist as long as he could. Suchet 
was to resume the offensive towards 
Turin, the Army of Reserve was to 
pass the Alps and to enter Pied- 
mont, and the Army of the Rhine 
to send a detachment into Italy by 
St. Gothard. On 6 May 1800 N. 
left Paris for Geneva, where the 
Army of Reserve was assembled, 
and here he decided to pass into 
Italy by the Great St. Bernard route. 
His troops had a dreadful experience, 



224 



ITALIAN 

and were forced to draw their artillery 
in sledg^es. Melas had had no other 
campaigning- idea before him than that 
of which the Riviera was an objective, 
and now felt somewhat nervous as to 
the dispo'sitions in his rear. But the 
French were not having things all 
their own way, for the small fortress 
of Bard almost completely stopped 
their advance for three days, thus 
robbing it of much of its character of 
surprise. Most of the artillery, too, 
had had to be left behind, as it was 
imipossible to convey it by the paths 
by which the French avoided the fort- 
ress of Bard : indeed, such ol lit as 
they were able to bring with them 
(had to be smuggled by night through 
the streets of that town. Thus in 
May the Army of Italy under Mas- 
sena was shut up in Genoa, with 
starvation staring it in the face and 
surrounded by a hostile population. 
Suchet was defending Nice and the 
Var. The Army of Reserve had 
reached the border of the Italian 
plains, but it consisted of four weak 
corps only. The necessity for haste 
was ever before N.'s mind, but the 
appalling nature of the route by which 
he was forced tO' convoy his men and 
artillery militated greatly against his 
plans. 

N. now resolved to march on Milan ; 
this plan practically abandoned Genoa 
to ijts fate. He afterwards said at 
St. Helena that by advancing directly 
on Turin he would have "risked a 
battle against equal forces without an 
assured line of retreat, Bard being 
still uncaptured." He appeared to 
think that he would have been merely 
assisting the enemy by marching on 
Genoa, as they would have concentrated 
at Alessandria. This, however, does 
not seem clear fromi a strategic point 
of view. His immediate purpose was 
tO' reassemble an army of reserve in 
the neighbourhood of Milan, and this 
he effected lin the beginning of June. 
Lannes guarded the right flank of the 
army, and the main body, headed by 
Murat, advanced on Milan by way of 
Magenta, forcing the passage of the 
Ticino on 31 May. On 2 June Murat 
occupied Milan, to be followed the 
same day by the headquarters. The 
Austrians under Wukassowich retired 



ITALIAN 

tO' the Adda. Lannes by this time had 
reached Pavia, where he seized large 
stores of provisions and equipment. 
N. had now barred one of the two 
main lines of retreat open to the 
Austrians. 

By this time Melas had scattered 
his forces considerably. He had 
been baffled in Piedmont and on the 
Riviera through Massena's dogged 
tactics and Suchet 's defence of the 
Var, and he had weakened his large 
army by throwing out very long lines 
of communication. He had also 
thrown out many detachments to 
watch the Alpine valleys on his right 
rear : one of these had been consider- 
ably damaged by Lannes at Chivasso, 
and the other under Wukassowich, as 
we have seen, was driven eastwards. 
He also found it necessary to support 
Ott before Genoa, and Elsnitz on the 
Var, and learning of Lannes's advance 
on Chivasso and of the presence of the 
French artillery west of Turin, which 
force was being brought to Milan by 
a safe and circuitous route, he con- 
cluded that the force which convoyed 
this represented the main body of the 
Army of Reserve, for he had greatly 
underrated that army. Lannes's move 
towards Pavia Melas construed as a 
retreat, and, martialling such men as 
he could lay hands on at Turin, 
he prepared to cut off the retreat of 
the French on Ivrea, thinking that 
Wukassowich held them in front ; 
but, learning of the arrival of Mon- 
cey In Italy and of Wukassowich' s 
retreat on Brescia, he promptly de- 
cided to give up this scheme and to 
concentrate at Alessandria, thinking 
that he would easily break through 
the numerous small columns of which 
he believed the Army of Reserve to 
consist, and which now threatened to 
bar his retreat. Communication, how- 
ever, he found a tedious matter, and 
by the time that his orders had reached 
his various coimmanders and they had 
been obeyed, or the reverse, he found 
himself entirely shut in, and nothing 
remained for him, but to hack his way 
through with the men he was assemb- 
ling about Alessandria. 

On 5 June Murat moved on Pla- 
cenza, and, storming the bridgehead 
there, sent on Duhesme with one of 



225 



ITALIAN 

his divisions towards Crema. The 
advance portions of Moncey's corps 
approached Milan, and Berthier sent 
Victor to support Lannes and Murat. 
The Austrians attacked the French 
artillery train, which was checked, 
and on the 6th Lannes encountered 
and defeated O'Reilly's column of 
San Gipriano, thus barring- the main 
route from Alessandria to Parma. 
Murat could not cross the river at 
Piacenza as the bridge there had 
been cut by the retreating- garrison. 
Duhesme succeeded in pushing back 
Wukassowioh, and twoi divisions of 
the Army of Reserve were sent to- 
wards Lannes's point of crossing, as 
Murat had not yet succeeded in 
gaining- Piacenza. The army passed 
over the river, division by division. 
Elsnitz retreated before Suchet and 
Melas had left Turin for Alessandria. 
He was also gathering up his forces 
to recover his communications. Con- 
centration now became an absolute 
necessity to N., and the goal of his 
efforts was expressed in the words 
"twenty thousand men at Stradella," 
with which view-point the campaign 
entered on a new phase. 

On 8 June Lannes and Victor 
crossed the river, and connexion 
was establisihed between Lannes and 
Murat. The army now lay between the 
Alps, the Apennines, and the Ticino, 
and it was important that its 
various components should be linked 
and systematized. In some parts 
very small forces were holding im- 
portant positions; and, indeed, Melas 
could easily have broken through 
Moncey's outposts around Milan had 
he wished. The position of the main 
body at Stradella, however, was well 
chosen, for there was not sufficient 
room for the disposition of such 
forces as Melas could bring against 
it. Lannes was sent forward with 
an advance-guard on the right of 
Voghera. N. was hoping that Melas 
could not assemble 20,000 men at 
Alessandriia before 12 June, and he 
had told Lannes that he could not 
possibly encounter more than 10,000 
men on this road. Lannes, coming 
into collision with the Austrians, 
fought the Battle of Montebello on 
the 9th, drove them from several 



ITALIAN 

successive positions, and the combat 
culminated in a fierce engagement 
in the neighbourhood of Montebello 
itself. The French numbered 12,000 
and the Austrians 14,000, and the 
former lost 2,500 to the Austrians' 
3,000 killed and 1,500 taken prisoner. 
N. now directed Duhesme's corps to 
return to Piacenza to join the main 
body, while Moncey was to guard 
the line of the Ticino. The main 
body lay between Piacenza and 
Montebello, flanked by a strong- 
guard at Pavia on the right. N. 
trusted to a junction between Mas- 
s^na and Suchet to crush Melas 
against the Army of Reserve. He 
was not very certain as to the 
ability of this latter body to stem 
the torrent ; and the orders of the 
gth to the main body seem to point 
to an attempt to concentrate it to- 
wards Casteggioi in view of a pos- 
sible decisive conflict at that point. 
N. was certain that Melas w^ould 
attack him on the side of Stradella. 
In case the Austrian general failed in 
this design, N. made arrangements to 
check his retreat in the neighbourhood 
of Serravalle, south of Novi, but he 
seems, on the whole, to have been 
labouring under great uncertainty as 
to what Melas would really attempt. 
On the nth he ordered the main body 
to advance to the Scrivia, directing- 
practically his whole forces to- this 
point. He strained every nerve to 
bring up more men and dispose them 
in such a manner that Melas could 
not find a retreat in Genoa should he 
attempt to do so. On the 12th the 
army moved towards the Scrivia, 
Lannes taking up his position at 
Castelnuovo, Desaix at Pontecurone, 
Victor at Tortona along with Murat, 
whilst Lapoype was hastening to join 
Desaix. These forces in all numbered 
only about 28,000 men, as it had been 
found impossible to bring up the divi- 
sions of Moncey, Duhesme and others. 
It seemed impossible to get into touch 
with the enemy. Whether he was 
still in Alessandria, or marching to 
Genoa to secure the countenance of 
the British fleet, were open questions. 
On the 13th Murat, Lannes, and Vic- 
tor entered the plain of Marengo, dis- 
possessed the Austrian rear-guard of 



226 



ITALIAN 

several villag'es there, and established 
themselves for the nig^ht within a 
mile of the fortress. Meanwhile, 
during- the nigfht, N. sent out Desaix's 
three divisions at Pontecurone in dif- 
ferent directions for the purpose of 
finding- and holding Melas, wherever 
he had g;one. This left N. with only 
21,000 men, and in the forenoon of 
the 14th the whole of Melas's army, 
upwards of 40,000 strong-, moved out 
of Alessandria and debouched into the 
plain of Marengx>. 

When the armies came into contact 
an energetic resistance was offered tO' 
the Austrian attack, which was some- 
what delayed by the circumstance that 
ere it could be decisively launched the 
river Bormida had to be crossed. 
When this was effected it was divided 
intO' two columns, which advanced one 
by the main road on Marengo and the 
other on Castel Ceriolo. The first was 
led by Melas, and consisted of 20,000 
men, and this was directed at Victor's 
column, about 10,000 strong. Every 
foot of ground was disputed by the 
French, who actually forced the Aus- 
trian right toi deploy, and kept them 
at bay for a couple of hours before 
they reached the brook at Fontanone. 
Victor's men found themselves short 
of ammunition, and had to retire for 
some distance, but the retreat was an 
orderly one. They abandoned several 
guns, however. The second Austrian 
column was led by Ott, who con- 
fronted Lannes, the Austrian force 
numbering 7,500 to the French 4,000. 
Lannes was also forced to retire with 
considerable losses, and N., convinced 
that he now had tO' deal with Melas's 
entire army, dispatched staff officers 
to bring back his detachments, and 
threw out his reserves under Monnier 
to support Lannes and Victor. Mon- 
nier's men charged impetuously and 
drove the Austrians out of Castel 
Ceriolo, which they had taken from 
Lannes, but a fierce Austrian attack 
was launched on the place, and it was 
retaken,. The French forces by three 
o'clock were disposed on the right and 
left of San Giuliano in a shaken line : 
they ho'ped to prolong the struggle till 
nightfall permitted them to retreat. 
Melas, fully convinced that the battle 
was won, returned to his headquarters 



ITALIAN 

at Alessandria, leaving Zach, his chief 
of staff, tO' conduct what he considered 
would sooner or later resolve itself 
into a pursuit. 

Few events in military history 
savour more of the dramatic than 
that which now took place. Boudet's 
division of Desaix's corps received at 
one o'clock the message, " Return, in 
the name of God," and between four 
and five oi'clock, after a forced 
march, beaded by Desaix in person, 
debouched on the battlefield. Moving 
along the main road from Tortona 
to Alessandria, it closed the line of 
Lannes and Victor. Zach was busy 
arranging the pursuit, whilst N. and 
Desaix, under fire, arranged a new 
plan of attack. Marmont, with 
eighteen guns, was sent into action 
on the right of the road, replying 
to the fire of the Austrian guns and 
checking their outposts. Desaix's in- 
fantry, with the remains of Lannes's 
and Victor's corps, was stationed 
behind the artillery, while on Lannes's 
right was Monnier with the Consular 
Guard and 400 men of Kellermann's 
cavalry brigade. At five o'clock 
Desaix threw himself against the 
Austrians' main column. In the 
attack he fell, but sO' fierce was the 
onset of his new troops that the 
leading Austrians were driven back 
upon their supports, and at the 
psychological moment Kellermann, with 
his 400 cavalrymen, charged. They 
cut their way through the column, 
taking it oompletely by surprise. 
Zadh was made prisoner along with 
some 2,000 men, and Kellermann, not 
content with his success, flung him- 
self upon the Austrian cavalry, which 
seemed tooi astonished to offer much 
resistance. A great wave of military 
passion surged along the French 
line, which grew greater as they 
discerned that panic had seized the 
Austrian army. Lannes, Victor, and 
Monnier pushed the Austrians back 
on MarengO', where a few battalions 
made a resolute stand. Next day a 
convention was agreed to between the 
leaders, by which all Italy up to the 
river Mincioi was evacuated by the 
Austrians. In this battle, lost and 
won within an hour, and which has 
few parallels in history, the French 



227 



JENA 

lost about 4,000 men and the Austrians 
9,500. 

Kray had been worsted at Stokach 
by Moreau. After his defeat he re- 
tired to Ulm, where he reorganized 
ihis scattered troops, but was un- 
able to repel Moreau 's advance, the 
French leader scoring- several suc- 
cesses, notably that of Hochstadt. 
Kray, afraid of being surrounded, 
retired and retreated over the Inn, 
where an armistice forbade Moreau 
following him up. Peace did not 
result from this measure, however, 
and the war was resumed both in 
Italy and in Germany. The Army of 
Italy was amalgamated with the Army 
of Reserve and placed under the com- 
mand of Massena, but this was again 
subdivided, sO' that one portion of it 
under Brune faced the Austrians on 
the Mincio', while the remainder under 
Murat attempted to re-establish French 
influence in Italy. Sporadic successes 
were scored by the first-mentioned 
army — one noteworthy instance of 
which was the feat of Macdonald in 
negotiating the Spliigen pass and de- 
scending on the plains below, to the 
discomfiture of the Austrians. The 
revolutionary war in Italy came to 
an end with the armistice of Styer 
(25 Dec. 1800) and the treaty of 
Lun^ville (9 Feb. 1801), but the 
respite offered by these measures was 
brief, and Europe was shortly after- 
wards to be plunged into a conflict 
more dire, and on a greatly extended 
scale. 



J 



Jena, Battle of.— This battle was 
won by swift concentration and the bold 
occupation of a commanding position, 
under cover of darkness, upon the 
Landgrafenberg, wihich rises above 
the town of Jena and alsoi dominates 
the plateau where Hohenlohe and his 
70,000 Prussians were encamped. 
Believing himself secure, the Prus- 
sian leader kept an insufficient guard, 
and N. was thus enabled to pack his 
troops upon the narrow plateau and 
place his artillery advantageously. 
Meanwhile Soult and Augereau took 
up positions to the right and left 
respectively. la the morning (14 Oct. 



JENA 

1806) the French attacked. Hohen- 
lohe's men fought bravely, but they 
were not only outnumbered but had 
been outgeneralled, and by the time 
the crisis came N. had disposed of 
two-thirds of their army. At this 
critical moment N. launched his 
guards and cavalry against the foe 
and completed the victory. In their 
flight the Prussians fell in witih 
another beaten army. See Auerstadt. 

Jena, Campaign of (1806).— The 
violation of the territory of Ans- 
pacb during the Austerlitz campaign 
had aroused Prussia to anger. She 
speedily mobilized and sent Haug- 
witz to N.'s headquarters to demand 
an explanation. But N. put 'him off 
on the plea of business till Austerlitz 
was won, and he returned evidently 
satisfied that the French intended 
no mischief. The Prussian Army 
demobilized. At this time, although 
memories of the prestige of Fred- 
erick the Great still lingered in the 
Prussian ranks, the lessons of modern 
warfare had by no means been assimi- 
lated by the staff and higher com- 
manders, who', though highly trained, 
lacked a leader. Again, the Prussian 
Army totalled only 110,000 men; it 
was in public disfavour, and was, 
indeed, almost as much a caste army 
as that of Austria. 

N., assured that he could not reap 
the fruits of his Austrlian victories 
until he had crippled Prussia, sat 
down to elaborate a strenuous cam- 
paign agaJinst the north German state. 
With the utmost skill he soi disposed 
the troops fresh from, their Austrian 
conquests in south Germany that a 
series of forced marches would suffice 
to concentrate them upon important 
strategic points. He permitted his 
army a long rest throughout the 
summer in the fruitful south Ger- 
man country, and it was not until 
the beginning of Oct. that Soult, 
Ney, Davout, Lannes, and Augereau 
received marching orders. The key- 
note of the campaign lay in its 
initial surprise, and to this end all 
the cavalry were kept in rear of the 
first infantry columns, whichi were 
ordered to advance at a given signal 
in dense masses, in order to crush the 
outposts and so check and overwhelm 



228 



JENA 

those advancing' columns which de- 
pended upon outpost resistance until 
they came up with the French. The 
Prussians had stretched their columns 
in line along- the road leading from 
Mainz to Dresden. 
The frontier was 
lined with outposts, 
and at points along 
the road mentioned 
the Prussian corps 
leaders were 
stationed. They had 
intended an offensive 
movement into Fran- 
conia, and, indeed, 
had commenced con- 
centration about 
Weimar, Jena, and 
Naumburg, when the 
French burst upon 
them from the 
Thuringian forests, 
swept away their 
outposts like straws, 
and advanced with 
astonishing rapidity. 
N. was, however, 
ig-norant of the 
whereabouts of the 
bulk of the Prussian 
Army ; indeed, so an- 
xious was he regard- 
ing this, and so little 
information did he 
receive from his 
cavalry on the point, 
that he offered a re- 
ward of 6,000 francs 
to be enlightened re- 
garding- the Prussian 
point of concentra- 
tion. Murat, Berna- 
dotte, and Davout 
were sent forward to 
Naumburg, Lannes 
and Augereau to 
Jena, and Soult to 
Ge r a . Had the 
Prussians concen- 
trated their 120,000 
against Lannes and 
Augereau, Soult could not have come 
to their assistance until, in all prob- 
ability, it was too late to save them ; 
but they were ill-informed and slow in 
their movements and dispositions, and 
spent most of their time in pedantic staff 



JENA 

discussions. The men were starving 
and were suffering badly from nerves 
consequent upon the defeat of the 
outposts. Indeed, on one occasion 
a panic broke out at Jena which it 



MAP showing SITES 
of Lhe BATTLES of 




CO . LTD LONDOH 



required all the address of Hohen- 
lohe tO' stem. The Saxon contingent 
threatened tO' withdraw unless properly 
provisioned. Goethe, the poet, M^as at 
that time commissary at Weimar, and 
tO' him appeals were made for pro- 



229 



JENA 

visions and fuel ; but, probably wrapped 
in the bliss of artistry, he ignored the 
message, and his wretched country- 
men spent the night shivering over 
the cold ashes of their fireless 
bivouacs. 

Early on the morning of 13 Oct. 
reports began to come in regarding 
the Prussian dispositions. Instruc- 
tions were forwarded to Davout to 
turn westward from Naumburg to- 
wards Kosen, and to bring Berna- 
dotte with, him if in touch, with him. 
N. seems to ihave considered, how- 
ever, that Bernadotte was already on 
his way toi Dornburg. But he was 
with Davout, and from the terms of 
the Emperor's dispatch he thought he 
had missed an order instructing him 
to proceed to Dornburg. Fearful of 
the consequences, he attem,pted to 
conceal what he thought his mistake 
by pushing on towards Dornburg, 
with the result that his corps was 
lost to the Emperor when it was 
most required. 

Lannes occupied Jena, and, having 
come into touch, with Prussian troops 
to the north, asked for instructions. 
For answer the Emperor pushed for- 
ward, reached Jena in the afternoon, 
and proceeded to reconnoitre. His 
view was restricted, however. The 
Prussians were about to move to the 
attack when von Massenbach, a mem- 
ber of the headquarters staff, arrived 
and, claiming to speak in the name 
of the King and commander-in-chief, 
induced Hohenlohe to return to camp, 
N., concluding that the entire Prus- 
sian Army was on his front, issued 
orders for the entire grande armee to 
concentrate on Jena. But the Prus- 
sians, doubting the safety of their 
line of retreat on Berlin, retired to- 
wards the river Unstrutt and Eck- 
hardtsberge, leaving Hohenlohe and 
Riichel to act as rear-guard. There- 
fore, on the afternoon of the 13th they 
were encamped in that position. 

On the early morning of 14 Oct. 
1806 over 60,000 Frenchmen stood on 
the narrow plateau which crowns the 
Landgrafenberg. Luckily for them, 
they were hidden by a dense fog, 
otherwise they would have presented 
a capital mark for the Prussian artil- 
lery. Hohenlohe 's plan was to drive 



JENA 

the French into the valley beneath 
their position, but he was ignorant of 
the numbers with which he had to 
deal. Through lack of space to 
manoeuvre, he could only throw a few 
battalions forward, and these had to 
wait until the fog cleared away some- 
what. They were met by active and 
determined resistance on the part of 
the French skirmishers, who drove 
them back in confusion. Between 
Landgrafenberg and the plateau of 
Jena is a narrow neck — ^what might 
almost be described as a peninsula 
of rock — and across this the French 
poured in dense masses, occupying the 
plateau, whilst on either hand of them 
Soult and Augereau scaled the heights 
to their assistance. The Prussians 
advanced as if on parade, and halted 
to fire, but they could not be induced 
to advance again, and the French, 
seeking the cover of hedges and build- 
ings, poured such galling fire upon 
their ranks that they soon fell into 
confusion. The French and Prussian 
artilleries were too well match,ed to 
render much assistance to their own 
infantry, while the Prussian cavalry 
charged in squadrons instead of in 
mass, and were easily taken in 
detail. The Prussians were soon 
outnumbered and outflanked, but 
nevertheless they put up a sporadic 
resistance until 2 p.m., when the 
guards and cavalry were let loose 
upon them, and a sauve qui pent 
comrnenced. At this point Ruchel's 
division arrived and made a gallant 
attempt to cover the retreat, but the 
fugitives poured through their in- 
tervals and broke up their ranks, so 
that shortly they joined the general 
rout. By 4 P.M. the Prussian Army 
was in full flight. 

Faulty strategy was at the bottom 
of their failure, for although out- 
numbered their position permitted of 
the attainment of local superiority at 
nearly every point, and there were 
signs that the men and company 
officers would have acquitted them- 
selves tO' much better purpose under 
more competent leadership. 

Davout had received orders to cross 
the Saale at Kosen, and in doing so 
encountered the Prussian main army, 
headed by the King of Prussia in 



230 



JENNER 

person, while m arching- frorni Auer- 
stadt towards the Elbe. The French 
at once deployed and opened out in 
the Kosen defile and the plateau of 
Auerstadt above it. The Prussians 
were so' occupied in keeping- step that 
the French had swung' into line before 
they had taken up a positiom. A des- 
perate struggle ensued, and by noon 
Davout's forces were in a critical 
position, whilst the Prussian guards^ 
numbering eighteen battalions, under 
Kalckreuth, who- had not yet engaged 
them, stood fresh and unbroken. At 
the critical moment, however, the 
Duke of Brunswick was mortally 
wounded, and Scharnhorst, the chief 
of staff, was engaged in another part 
of the field. Rumours of defeat at 
Jena began to reach the field, and 
Kalckreuth, learning of these, refused 
to attack with his eighteen battalions 
without a direct order from the com- 
mander-in-chief, alleging that it was 
his duty to cover the retreat, and that 
he was responsible tO' the King for the 
guards corps. A determined cavalry 
charge would certainly have saved the 
day, but the troops of the mounted 
arm had been scattered among- the 
infantry commands, and as they were 
unaccustomed to charge in mass it 
was found impossible for them to 
attack. 

A retreat was therefore commenced 
by order of Scharnhorst. The French, 
practically broken, were incapable of 
following up the enemy. Bernadotte 
arrived too late at Jena. During the 
night the Prussian retreat continued ; 
order among them was soon re-estab- 
lished, and they retired towards the 
mouth of the Elbe. They were, how- 
ever, in evil case. The pursuing 
French were hailed with outward 
pleasure by the inhabitants of the 
surroundings country, who fed and 
attended to them whilst neglecting 
their own troops. On 26 Oct. 
Davout reached Berlin, where he was 
met by the corporation. Hohenlohe 
surrendered on the 28th toi Murat, 
and Bliicher was pressed into Liibeck. 
See EvLAu and Friedland, Campaigns 

OF. 

Jenner, Dr., and Napoleon.— Dr. 

Jenner (1749-1823), the discoverer of 
vaccination, was highly respected by 



JOSEPHINE 

N. ; and, as an instance of the esteem 
he accorded to men of science, the 
following^ episode is worthy of record : 
A relative of Dr. Jenner, Dr. Wick- 
ham by name, became by some chance 
a prisoner of war, and was incar- 
cerated at Verdun. Hoping- to obtain 
Wickham's release, Jenner sent a 
petition tO' the Emperor, who, merely 
glancing at it, put it aside. Josephine, 
standing near, picked it up, and, see- 
ing the signature, realized who was 
the petitioner. She drew N.'s atten- 
tion toi the fact, and he immediately 
complied with the request, and Wick- 
ham was released. Further, N. made 
a point of refusing Dr. Jenner no- 
thing, and subsequently whole families 
of English prisoners were set at liberty 
at his simple request. 

Josephine, The Empress (1763- 
1814). — Marie-Rose Josephine Tas- 
cher de la Pagerie, first married to 
Alexandre de Beauharnais {q-'V-), 
secondly to Napoleon Bonaparte, was 
born on 23 June 1763 in the island 
of Martinique, the daughter of Joseph 
Gaspard Tascher de la Pagerie 
and his wife Rose-Claire Desvergers 
de Sanois, both belonging, like the 
Beauharnais, to the lesser Orleanais 
noblesse. Josephine (Geyette being 
her pet name) was the eldest of three 
daughters, the second sister, Catherine 
Desiree (1764-71), being first thought 
of as a bride for the young Vicomte 
de Beauharnais, a fever carrying- her 
off, however, before the matter was 
finally arrang-ed. The third daughter, 
Marie Fran9oise (Manette), born in 
1767, was next preferred, but, dread- 
ing and refusing to leave her home, 
Josephine was chosen. 

Josephine was educated at a convent 
at Port Royal, and appears, by some 
accounts, to have been accorded an 
unusual amount of liberty. Suffi- 
ciently weird, and by all accounts 
well supported, is the famous story 
of the prophecy uttered by an old 
negress of Martinique, who, seizing 
the hands of the young girl, foretold 
her early marriage, her sudden widow- 
hood, and next her being crowned 
Queen of France : " Thou shalt be 
greater yet less than Queen of 
France." If this story be true it 
may well account for that supersti- 



231 



JOSEPHINE 

ti'Ous trait in Josephine so often 
remarked upon in later years. 

Josephine's marriage was arranged 
by her aunt, Mme. de R^naudin, nie 
Tascher, who "occupied an equivocal 
position in the household of the Mar- 
quis de Beauiharnais " and later be- 
came his third wife. The Tascher and 
Beauharnais families had met when the 
latter was governor in Martinique, but 
at this period the marquis had returned 
to France. The preliminaries being 
at length satisfactorily arranged, she 
sailed for France, and landed there in 
the same year as N., then on his way 
to Brienne. She was met at Havre 
by her fianc6, and on 13 Dec. 1779 
they were married at Noisy-le-Grand. 
Accounts are conflicting as to the 
degree of happiness enjoyed by 
Josephine and her husband, though 
Mme. de Remusat claimed to have 
read some letters of Beauharnais to 
his wife that expressed the most tender 
sentiments, letters that were carefully 
treasured by Josephine. Both were 
well received socially, Alexandre being 
one of the best dancers at court, while 
Josephine was petted by Marie An- 
toinette, being twice received by her 
at the Trianon, notwithstanding the 
fact that she had never been pre- 
sented in the usual manner. Whis- 
pers against Josephine's conduct 
aroused the jealousy of Beauharnais, 
whilst he on his part openly and 
flagrantly followed his errant fandies. 
Their son Eugene {q.v.) was born in 
1781, Hortense {q.v.) in 1783. By the 
time of the latter's birth Beauharnais 
was in Martinique, whither he had 
gone to win glory in the great con- 
quests over the English promised by 
the Marquis de Bouill6, the newly 
appointed governor of the island. 
While lin Martinique the Vicomte fell 
under the influence of a Creole, a 
woman older than himself, who had 
much toi say regarding Josephine's 
behaviour before she went tO' France. 
For some reason this woman hated 
the Taschers, especially Josephine, 
and this was her method of revenge. 
The intimation of his daughter's birth 
Beauharnais utilized as an opportunity 
for writing an abusive letter to his 
wife in which he recounted all he 
had heard against her, while declar- 



JOSEPHINE 

ing his determination on a complete 
separation, and, further, disavowed 
the paternity of Hortense. In Mar- 
tinique, Josephine's father, wrathful 
at his son-in-law's conduct, re- 
proached him severely and offered to 
take back his daughter, whilst she in 
Paris (Nov. 1783), despairing of any 
healing of the breach, retired to the 
convent of Pantlemont, whose superior 
was the Princess of Conde, whence 
she lodged a legal complaint against 
her husband. How far these charges 
against Josephine are founded on fact 
it is practically impossible to say, so 
conflicting are the statements ; but 
some details which are beyond doubt 
are illuminating, namely, that fifteen 
months later Alexandre amply apolo- 
gized for his letters, written, he said, 
under the influence of passion ; that 
as tOi the paternity of Hortense, not 
only did he not persist in such an 
unjustifiable disclaimer, but assumed 
full rights as to the control of the 
child, and alsoi that in the dispute the 
Beauharnais family took Josephine's 
part. The legal proceedings resulted 
in a vindication of the wife, and a 
separation was formally arranged by 
March 1785, when she left the convent. 
The agreement was that Josephine was 
tOi retain the custody of Hortense, also 
of Eugene until he reached the age 
of six, and, further, that Beauharnais 
was toi allow his wife a yearly income 
of 10,000 francs. This separation, it 
would seem, was never cancelled 
or its provisions contravened, though 
assertions to the contrary have been 
made, doubtless based on the fact that 
husband and wife corresponded on the 
subject of the children, that occasional 
meetings took place, and that both 
owned friendsi in common. It is 
thought that Josephine, after leaving 
the convent, resided at the house of 
the Marquis de Beauharnais at Fon- 
tainebleau. Three years now elapse of 
which there is practically no record, 
but doubtless it was at this period that 
Josephine's social education, which re- 
sulted in SO' exquisite a manner and 
charm, was begun. At Pantlemont she 
had made many desirable acquaint- 
ances who helped in precisely this 
direction, and, further aided by her 
beauty and distinctive grace, sihe made 



232 



JOSEPHINE 

good her claim toi social recognition, 
which her husband's neglect and treat- 
ment would otherwise have discredited. 
Then in the summer of 1788 comes the 
journey back to Martinique with her 
daughter, the reasons for which are 
largely problematical, Bingham- giving 
that of the death of her father and 
the need of looking after the paternal 
property, Hoiwever this may be, she 
remained there for nearly three years, 
when the racial war broke out in Mar- 
tinique. A friend of the Beauiharnais 
family, Durand de Braye, was in com- 
mand of the naval division in West 
Indian waters, and offered not only a 
refuge on his ship to the vicomtesse 
but to take her back toi France. This 
offer was gratefully accepted, and 
Josephine and her daughter set sail 
under fire from the forts, which were 
now in the hands of the negroes, and 
in Nov. 1790 were back again in Paris, 
settling at Fontainebleau. Her hus- 
band was now an important personage 
under the revolutionary regime, one of 
the most influential members of the 
Assembly for a while, and necessarily 
his wife and children shared in the re- 
flected glory. But, as was usual with 
careers at that time, his was short-lived, 
and after his lack of success as com- 
mander-in-ohief of the Army of the 
Rhine he was recalled and arrested. 
He was imprisoned in the Carmelites, 
where, little more than a month later, 
he was followed by Josephine, also a 
prisoner, perhaps because of her efforts 
tO' obtain her husband's release. Fur- 
ther representations were made to the 
authorities on behalf of Beauharnais, 
but after a perfunctory trial he was 
condemned tO' death, and suffered on 
2^ July 1794, sending pathetic letters 
of farewell to his wife and children. 
The surroundings in which Josephine 
was now placed were sufficiently ter- 
rible, the Carmelites having already 
been made famous in the dreadful 
Sept. massacres, when nearly 8,000 
persons were slaughtered by the mob. 
Fear was only natural, and added to 
this was the anxiety for her family. 
The sufferings of Josephine and 
those in a similar position must have 
been intense. It is said that some 
saved their lives by bartering their 
honour, and this has been alleged as 



JOSEPHINE 

the only possible reason of her escape. 
But her liberty was due to a cause 
which also meant freedom to many 
more. On the same day that Josephine 
learned of her husband's fate she also 
received the intimation that she was to 
be removed to the Conciergerie and 
thence to- the guillotine. But four days 
later Robespierre fell, and Josephine 
was free. Being practically without 
means, she and her children would 
have fared ill but that "family friends 
came to the rescue, clalims on the 
nation were advanced and admitted, 
loans solicited and obtained, while 
even dependants lent their savings." 
In her prison Josephine was univers- 
ally beloved by reason of her kindness 
and sweetness of character. There she 
had made many friends, chief amongst 
themi Mme. de Fontenay, Ther^se 
Cabarrus, who on her release became 
Mme. Tallien (q-v.), and through her 
the ci-devant Vicomtesse de Beau- 
harnalis was introduced to that hetero- 
geneous collection of individuals and 
interests which then constituted French 
society, and rival campsi were soon 
formed which followed the fantastic 
fashions set by each. These two 
women, both "friends" of Barras, a 
term used by many in its most in- 
vidious sense, were queens of the 
Paris that knew the Merveilleuses, the 
IncroyahleSy the Jeunesse doree — the 
Paris that was then rejoicing over the 
fall of the Terrorists. Though not so 
beautiful as Mme. Tallien, Josephine, 
now an accomplished woman of the 
world, was more than her equal io 
grace and oharm, qualities which she 
possessed to such a remarkable degree 
that not only friends but enemies have 
left eloquent testimony to the fact. 

Such was Josephine in the year 1795, 
when Napoleon Bonaparte rendered 
signal service to tihe French Govern- 
ment by scattering the malcontents of 
Paris on Vend^miaire (5 Oct. 1795) — 
a service which marked him out and 
brought him to the front. Regarding 
the first meeting of these two famous 
personages, N. gives the stor}' of the 
boy Eugene and his visit to himself 
to beg his help In recovering his dead 
father's sword. Thus Josephine met 
the man who was to bring about the 
startling fulfilment of that prophecy of 



233 



JOSEPHINE 

her g^irlhood. This story has been 
doubted, but, however they met, or 
whatever the cause, N. was from 
tlie first moment Josephine's devoted 
admirer. No one wiho' has read Ms 
letters written to her during that won- 
derful Italian campaign can doubt the 
fervour and depth of his passion for 
her, and in considering the emotional 
history of N.'s life one cannot but 
believe that in this love he reached 
the highest and best of hiis nature. 

The civil marriage of N. and 
Josephine took place on 9 March 1796 
before the mayor of the second ward 
of Paris. Already N. was preparing 
for the Italian campaign, working 
night and day, and therefore Josephine 
and her friend's, including Tallien and 
lawyer Calmelet, had arrived some 
time before the bridegroom. The cere- 
mony had been arranged to take place 
between eight and nine in the evening, 
but it was ten o'clock before N., his 
aide-de-camp Lemarrois, and Barras 
appeared. The ceremony was then 
hurried through, and the marriage 
certificate contained several flagrant 
errors which affected its validity. 
Josephine was thirty-three, N. twenty- 
seven years of age. This discrepancy 
was not apparent in the certificate, 
which records the age of each as 
twenty-eight. 

Two days later N. set out for Italy. 
In the fact that Josephine did not 
accompany him, but chose to stay 
behind in Paris, enjoying the round 
of social pleasure, many have found 
cause for blame, but reasons are not 
hard to seek which made this arrange- 
ment desirable and advantageous. For 
■one thing, it was as well in that time 
to have a friend at court if duty called 
one far afield. It was during this 
absence that N. wrote those impas- 
sioned letters to his wife which Sainte- 
Beuve has said come near to being 
a national epic. From! contemporary 
evidence we learn that Josephine re- 
fused to take them and their fervid 
declarations seriously, and Thibaudeau 
records that after reading one she 
smilingly said : " II est drole, Bona- 
parte." Not only this, but with the 
ingrained sloth of the Creole tempera- 
ment, she disliked letter-writing and 
rarely replied to her husband's letters. 



JOSEPHINE 

Also, devoted to Paris and its gaiety 
as she was, when he asked her to join 
him in Italy her reluctance was only 
too manifest and her excuses for delay 
numerous. That potent word "if" is 
irresistible at this juncture, and many 
writers on the subject have reasoned 
as follows : that if Josephine had but 
returned his love with greater fervour 
— if she had but devoted herself to 
his wishes and interests rather than 
to society and its pleasures — then she 
herself had never been repudiated, 
however powerful N.'s ambitions, 
or never would have suffered the 
chagrin caused by his later infidelities. 

After various excuses and delays 
Josephine joined N., to his great joy, 
at Montebello, near Milan, in the early 
summer of 1797. There, as in Paris, 
her grace and tact won the hearts of 
foe and friend alike, with the notable 
exception of her husband's family. 
N.'s mother, according tO' Lucien, 
"was dissatisfied with the marriage 
of her son the general with the ex- 
Marquise de Beauharnais, consider- 
ing her too old and that she would 
not bear him children," while the 
sisters from the first always regarded 
her with jealousy and spite and a 
mark for their scandal-loving tongues. 
Whether Josephine gave cause for it 
or not at this time is a question which 
has never been satisfactorily answered, 
but, apart from this, the family's be- 
haviour in many respects tried not only 
Josephine but N. himself. The ran- 
cour and hatred against his wife never 
ceased till finally appeased by her 
divorce. 

In 1798-99, during the Egyptian 
campaJign, scandal arose concerning 
Josephine's relations with an officer, 
Hippolyte Charles (q-v.) by name, a 
scandal which, actual or imaginary, 
was duly communicated to N., by 
Junot, it is said. His anger and 
despair are apparent in a letter to 
Josephine, and it is evident that he 
contemplated divorce, to the joy of 
his family. In the Charles affair as 
good a case can be made out in 
Josephine's defence as that brought 
against her. One fact is also certain, 
that her good nature and kindness of 
heart were not only taken advantage 
of but often vilely misrepresented. 



234 



JOSEPHINE 

Hearing- of N.'s arrival in France from 
Egypt, Josephine, accompanied by 
Louis Bonaparte, set out to meet him, 
but the wrong- route was chosen, and 
N. arrived to find an empty home, 
though a family chorus was soon deaf- 
ening his ears with tales of his wife's 
failings. That very evening, however, 
after Josephine's return, and through 
the unconscious pleadings of her chil- 
dren Eugfene and Hortense, a recon- 
ciliation was effected, much to the 
chag-riin of the Bonapartes. There is 
no doubt that now Josephine loved her 
husband with all the strength, whether 
great or little, of her nature, while 
N., though she must always remain 
first with him, sought distraction else- 
where. This much granted, yet there 
existed between them many bonds of 
sympathy, and Josephine's power over 
her husband still counted for more 
than anyone cared to challenge. True 
tO' his prejudices, he never admitted 
her into political matters, yet in other 
directions he often made use of her 
good sense and judgment. But this 
same judgment of hers saw only too 
clearly reason for anxiety in the grow- 
ing ambitions of N., a feeling' which 
developed into a haunting fear. From 
the time he became First Consul, with 
powers over the choice of a successor, 
the idea of divorce was present, an 
idea which his family fostered to the 
best of their ability, always harping 
on the fact of Josephine's childless- 
ness. That Josephine divined this 
only too well is apparent in that 
pathetic wish of hers when, on the 
eve of coronation, she was married 
anew to^ N., this time with the rites 
of religion. Yet even in this there 
was an omission of one formality, the 
presence of the parish priest, which 
was duly noted. During this period 
the charges of frivolity, extravagance, 
and lack of seriousness on certain 
occasions were repeatedly brought 
against the Empress, charges sup- 
ported by varying degrees of evidence. 
That her position was essentially a 
difficult one cannot be denied, con- 
stantly subjected as she was to the 
espionage and jealous insinuations of 
the Bonapartes, despite the fact that 
often she was the peacemaker between 
them and N., and generally to their 



JOSEPHINE 

advantage. Throughout her years of 
power a kindness towards all was her 
distinguishing characteristic, devoid as 
she was of malice or bitterness. When 
she could exert her influence on affairs 
it was always on behalf of peace and 
moderation, the royalists and emigres 
owing much to her. Once only did she 
fail, in the case of the Due d'Enghien. 

At last, in 1809, driven by political 
and dynastic considerations, N. de- 
cided on a divorce. His desire for an 
heir, and the impossibility of his wife 
realizing that desire, were the reasons 
for divorce, and after the campaign of 
that year he announced the decision tO' 
Josephine. Heartbroken, she pleaded 
against it, yet at length, "making the 
sacrifice for France," she acquiesced, 
and at a family council, with the 
triumphant Bonapartes for audience, 
she read aloud, or tried tO', her agree- 
ment with N.'s decision, tO' which 
she tremblingly affixed her signature. 
That her husband suffered greatly is 
undoubted, apart from the intense dis- 
like ihe had to breaking with old asso- 
ciations and custom. 

The day after the family council 
Comte Lacep^de introduced the resolu- 
tions to the Senate. " It is to-day 
that, more than ever before, the 
Emperor proves that he wisihes to 
reign only to serve his subjects, and 
that the Empress has merited that 
posterity should associate her name 
with that of Napoleon." The decrees 
of the Senatus-Consultus were: "(i) 
The marriag-e contracted between the 
Emperor Napoleon and the Empress 
Josephine is dissolved. (2) The Em- 
press Josephine will retain the titles 
and rank of a crowned Empress-Queen. 
(3) Her jointure is fixed at an annual 
revenue of ;^8o,ooo from the public 
treasury. (4) Every provision which 
may be made by the Emperor in favour 
of the Empress Josephine out of the 
fund of the civil list sihall be obligatory 
on his successors." (In addition to 
the above jointure N. also allowed 
her ;^4o,ooo a year from his own 
privy purse.) As well as the above 
decrees the Senate made separate 
addresses to N. and Josephine. 

Even in the midst of her suffering 
Josephine's judgment ranged itself 
with N., and she urged on the Aus- 



235 



JOSEPHINE 



JOURNALISM 



trian alliance as preferable to others 
for its political and moral values, 
Mme. de Metternich, wife of the 
Austrian amibassador, writing tO' her 
husband in Jan. of that year, gave 
a description of a visit she paid to 
Malmaison, where both Hortense and 
Eugene de Beauharnais spoke of their 
Austrian sympathies, followed by 
Josephine, who said that she had been 
pleading with N. that his bride should 
be the Austrian archduohess. 

Popular feeling was not wholly with 
the Emperor. The army especially re- 
mained faithful to Josephine, notably 
veterans who remembered her in the 
Italian campaign. Later, when disaster 
was overwhelming N., they traced it to 
the repudiation of Josephine. 

By his letters to- Josephine written 
at this time it may be seen how much 
N. felt the separation. Always he 
showed the greatest care and concern 
for her health and comfort, and more 
than once he went to consult her upon 
matters in which he valued her tact 
and sense above all others. But, as 
the veterans said, N.'s star was on 
the wane — good fortune seemed tO' 
leave him with Josephine. 

So at Malmaison, with loyal friends 
and surrounded by her beloved flowers, 
the Empress spent her remaining years 
in dignified retirement. There she 
heard of N.'s marriage with Mariie 
Louise, of the birth of the King of 
Rome, of N.'s disasters— foretold by 
the cards she consulted every night — 
of his abdication, of his exile to Elba, 
and if it had been possible she would 
have been beside him there. The 
health of Josephine began to fail early 
in 1814, and she grew rapidly worse. 
It was at this time that William III. 
of Prussia and the Emperor Alexander 
paid their visits at Malmaison, leaving 
it impressed with the unfailing charm; 
and sweetness of the Empress. Soon 
after, on 24 May 1814, she breathed 
her last. The news of her death 
reached N. at Elba, and, in his own 
words, "it was one of the most acute 
griefs of that fatal year." Again he 
visited Malmaison, during the fateful 
Hundred Days, before he left for 
Waterloo, and there he said of the 
woman to whom he had written those 
magnificent love-letters, who had in- 



spired him to that wonderful campaign 
of 1796: " Pauvre Josephine. . . . 
She had her failings, but she would 
never have abandoned me" — at once 
his great tribute to her and his damn- 
ing judgment on Marie Louise. 

Jouberthon, Madame, nee Marie 
de Bleschamps. — See Bonaparte, 
Marie Alexandrine Charlotte 
Louise. 

Jourdan, Jean Baptiste, Count 
(1762-1833). —French marshal; was 
born at Limoges on 29 April, 1762. 
Entering the army, he saw service in 
the Revolutionary wars, and was made 
general of division in 1793, in which 
year he won a victory over the Aus- 
trians at Wattignies (16 Oct.). The 
victory of Fleurus (26 June 1794) fol- 
lowed, when he drove the Austrians 
back to the Rhine. On 11 Oct. 1795 
he received a check at Hochst, and in 
the following year he led the right 
wing of the army in the advance on 
Vienna. Successful at first, he was 
afterwards repeatedly defeated by the 
Archduke Charles, and forced to retire 
intO' civil life, when he devoted himself 
toi politics. He was restored in 1799, 
but suffered further defeat at the hands 
of the Archduke Charles, and again 
resigned his command. In 1800, his 
early opposition to^ the new regime 
having been overcome, he took service 
with N., and was made a marshal of 
France in 1804. In 1808, as military 
adviser to Joseph Bonaparte, he took 
part in the Peninsular War, and 
sustained defeat at Vittoria (181 3). 
Peculiarly pliant, or peculiarly indif- 
ferent as tO' where he bestowed his 
allegiance, Jourdan at the first Re- 
storation gave his adherence to the 
Bourbons, returned tO' N. during the 
Hundred Days, and again during the 
second Restoration he became a Bour- 
bonist and was made a count and a 
peer of France. He died on ^3 Nov. 

1833- 

Journalism. — Under the regime 
of N. the liberty of the press was 
practically extinct, only a handful of 
carefully censored journals existing. 
The monstrous excesses of the re- 
volutionary press were succeeded by 
a period of such flatness as has 
seldom been experienced in Gallic 
journalism. N. on one occasion 



236 



JOURNALISM 

stated that, naturally, he regarded 
the liberty of the press as limitless, 
but that he did not consider an 
entirely free press suitable to the re- 
quirements of the French people. 
Whatever his true sentiments regard- 
ing- this question, he exercised a truly 
tyrannical control over French, and 
especially over Parisian, journalism, 
and instituted a carefully considered 
system of espionage in connexion 
with, the principal journals. 

As regards the general character 
of French journalism under the Napo^ 
Iconic regime, it can only be charac- 
terised as venal and despicable in the 
extreme, and it is probable that no 
such servile press ever existed even in 
the republics of Latin America. Truth, 
was absolutely foreign to its columns, 
and the most obvious and puerile 
falsehoods were daily published there- 
in. Tihe class of men in whose hands 
this type of journalism flourished were, 
as may be imagined, persons of the 
most mercenary and debased character. 
Nor was the literary style they em- 
ployed in any way superior to their 
moral outlook. It was, indeed, a mix- 
ture of cant and bombast, interspersed 
with dull and affected apostrophes to 
nature, outrageous tropes, and pseudo- 
poetical flourishes, leavened occasion- 
ally by the cheap philosophy of the 
day. The consequence of this was that 
the French public were, perhaps, the 
worst-informed of any in Europe re- 
garding the trend of affairs and upon 
topical questions. An acute observer 
has placed it on record that in 1802 
he was commissioned by a certain 
English| newspaper to^ engage a com- 
petent Parisian correspondent. After 
interviewing a great many celebrated 
men, all of whom were eager for the 
post, and having perused the writings 
sent by them as examples of their 
work, he concluded that none was fit 
for the position. Not only was the 
style of composition bombastic and 
hollow, but the writers appeared to 
be incapable of grasping one of the 
initial principles of journalism — that 
news, instead of being compiled from 
graceful nothings, should consist of 
a series of well-authenticated facts 
written in a straightforward and in- 
telligible manner. 



JOURNALISM 

From out the hurly-burly of re- 
volutionary journalism there emerged 
some nineteen daily journals of an 
average circulation of some three or 
four thousand apiece. The Consular 
government reduced the number of 
these to thirteen, among which the 
Moniteur, founded in 1789, and the 
Journal de Debats, instituted in the 
same year, were by far the most im- 
portant. The Moniteur was the only 
political paper regarded with the eye 
of favour by the Napoleonic govern- 
ment : indeed, it may be said to have 
been its official organ. It was the 
nominal property of Roederer, the 
editor, and Hautrive, the sub-editor ; 
and among its correspondents were 
Barr^re, the Decemvir, Treilhard, the 
ex-advocate, Portales, who was re- 
sponsible for the religious articles, 
Chaptal, minister of the interior, and 
many other political writers. Talley- 
rand himself occasionally contributed 
an article. If the paper possessed any 
definite policy, this may be interpreted 
as a Chauvinist attitude towards every- 
thing British. The Journal de Debats 
had been acquired by one Bertin from 
Bandouin, the printer, for 20,000 
francs. He called to his aid two 
writers, Geoffroy and Fievee, and 
succeeded in converting the Debats 
into a paper having a circulation of 
30,000 and producing an annual profit 
of 200,000 francs ; but this journal was 
regarded by N. with no very friendly 
eye. In 1805 a special censorship was 
proposed at the instance of Fouche, 
and at that juncture N. himself wrote 
to Fievee that the only means of pre- 
serving a newspaper from suspension 
was "to avoid publication of any news 
unfavourable to the government until 
the truth of it is so- well established 
that the publication becomes needless." 
Fievee only avoided the censorship in 
question by consenting to become the 
responsible editor, and the title of 
the paper was altered to Journal de 
I'Empire, N. disliking the word 
"D6bats." The old title, however, 
was resumed in Aug. 18 15, and the 
Journal de Debats still remains. 

The Journal de D^jenseurs de la 
Patrie provided sensible articles and 
useful literary criticisms, but no 
political matter. The Chef du Cabi- 



237 



JOURNALISM 

net rendered a fairly faithful account 
of continental news, and was notable 
for its typogfraphical excellence. This 
paper and another, Le Publiciste, had 
for their principal correspondent a 
member of the Senate and of the 
National Institute called Garot, who 
commenced his career by writing- 
paragraphs for Le Mercure, and rose 
to the editorship of the Journal de 
Paris, accompanying the French am- 
bassador to England in 1792, in which 
year he was made editor of the Gazette 
Nationale by the Convention. Two 
months later he was appointed minister 
of justice. Flown with insolence and 
success, he published a book in which 
he compared himself to the greatest 
figures of antiquity, and even tO' the 
Redeemer. Later he became the 
apologist of N., and received a pen- 
sion of ;^3,ooo per annum from, the 
public funds. All this he won by pure 
truckling, and in some measure he 
may be said to be typical of the 
French journalist of his day. The 
Citoyen Frangais was, perhaps, the 
most independent paper in Paris, and 
prior to the coronation of Napoleon 
was frequently furnished with articles 
by Tom Paine. The Journal de Com- 
merce usefully fulfilled its object to 
cater for the commercial classes. 

Of philosoplhical, literary and other 
periodical publications, the most im- 
portant was the Journal de Physique, 
edited and conducted by the able Dr. 
de Meteherie, professor of mineralogy 
in the College de France. All the 
emiinent chemists in France contri- 
buted to the Annales de Chemie. One 
of the most valuable publications of 
the day was the Annales de I' Agricul- 
ture Frangaise, published by Tessier. 
Other outstanding journals of this 
class were the Annales Statistiques, 
a well printed and arranged monthly, 
the Bihliotheque Commerciale, Annales 
des Arts et des Manufactures, in which 
good engravings appeared, and the 
editor of which was O'Reilly, a 
violent Jacobin. Le Decade Philoso- 
phique, Litt6raire et Politique appeared 
three times every month, and had the 
largest circulation of any periodical in 
France. It posed as a philosophical 
and atheistical organ, a critical re- 
view, poetical repository, and maga- 



JUNOT 

zine of fiction, and it would be hard 
to parallel for sheer imbecility the 
matter which appeared in its columns. 
For the most part, however, such 
journals as dealt with science and 
experimental philosophy were of a 
high standard, and the matter pub- 
lished in them was in sharp contra- 
distinction to the rubbish which filled 
the columns of the daily political press. 

In Feb. 1810 a decree was promul- 
gated organizing a general censorship 
of printing and publishing with in- 
creased severity. No> more than sixty 
printers were to be permitted to prac- 
tise in Paris, and even booksellers 
were to be licensed. All printed mat- 
ter had to be submitted to the general 
censorship, and in case of appeal to 
the minister of the interior ; but beyond 
that the general police and the prefects 
could suspend publication if they chose, 
and an incredible strictness was prac- 
tised by these bodies. Censors and 
official editors were forced upon the 
principal journals. Subsequent to 1810 
the control of the press became still 
more severe, if possible. In the pro- 
vinces the number of newspapers was 
reduced to one for each department, 
and after Oct. 181 1 there were only 
four newspapers left in Paris — the 
Moniteur, Ddbats or I'Empire, Journal 
de Paris, and the old Gazette de 
France, which gave special prominence 
to religious news. In Sept. 181 1 all 
the Parisian newspapers were confis- 
cated, and from that moment until the 
fall of N. the press may be said to 
have ceased to exist. Political news 
was only published at rare intervals 
and only with the government's con- 
sent, and such news was more often 
false than correct. 

Junot, Andoche, Due d'Abrantes 
(1771-1813).— French general; born 
at Bussy-le-Grand. He was educated 
at Chatillon, and was studying law at 
Paris when the Revolution broke out. 
During his first year of active service 
he distinguished himself soi greatly as 
to come under the special notice of 
N. during the siege of Toulon. As 
the latter' s aide-de-camp in Italy he 
was chosen to carry back the cap- 
tured colours after the Battle of 
Millesimo ; and later became a general 
of brigade during the expedition to 



238 



JUNOT 

Egypt. Always a faithful friend of 
the ETmperor's, Junot became involved 
in a quarrel between his master and 
General Lanusse, and was badly 
wounded in a duel in which he acted 
as N.'s substitute. He had to be left 
in Egypt owing- to his wounds, which, 
added to those he had received at 
Millesimo, caused some mental malady 
that was destined toi prove fatal in 
the end. On his return to France he 
received promotion, and married Mile. 
Laure Permon. During* the months 
which followed he served in many 
campaigns. The first of these was 
at Arras, when his g^eneral behaviour 
evoked the praise of the Emperor. 
Next he was sent as ambassador to 
Lisbon, but rejoined the Imperial 
forces soon after and g^ave fresh 
evidence of his valour in the Battle 
of Austerlitz. Although zealous and 
brave, Junot was a man of uncertain 
temper and domineering" character in 
private life, which latter fault made 
him disliked among- his colleagues. 
For this reason he was sent toi Parma 
to put down an insurrection which had 
broken out there, but in 1806 he re- 
turned and was nominated g-overnor 
of Paris. While in this position Junot 
became once ag-ain implicated at court 
— it is thougfht with one of the Im- 
perial family, Pauline Bonaparte — and 
as it became desirable tO' change his 
headquarters he was appointed to com- 
mand the force invading- Portug-al. In 
1807, at the head of 1,500 men, Junot 
crossed the Beira Mountains and 
stormed Lisbon. But his chief aim, 
to seize the Portuigiiese fleet, was 
frustrated, for it had already sailed 
for Brazil with the regent and court. 
However, in return for Junot's well- 
conducted expedition he was made 
Duke of Abrantes and Governor of 
Portugal. An administrator's life did 
not ag^ree with Junot. His conduct 
aroused the wrath of the people, and 
his regime in Portug-al was brief and 
marked by weakness. After the en- 
gagement at Vimiera with Wellesley, 
Junot was obliged to leave the country 
with his entire army, and only escaped 
being court-martialled. N. sent him- 
to Spain, where in 18 10 he was once 
more severely wounded while serving 
under Mass^na. He had now toi face 



JUNOT 

the Emperor's serious displeasure, loss 
of prestige, and mental illness, and 
these combined to hasten the final 
catastrophe. His last campaign was 
that of Russia, and later N. appointed 
him governor of Illyria ; but in 1813 
his misfortunes brought about insanity 
— and he threw himself out of a 
window at Monthard, with fatal con- 
sequences. He died on 29 July 181 3. 
Junot, Laure, Duchesse d'Abrantes 
(1784-1838).— Daughter of Mme. 
Permon (q.v.) and wife of General 
Junot, whom she married early in 
the Consulate, he having been madly 
in love with Pauline Bonaparte, as 
he was afterwards to be the lover of 
her sister Caroline when Mme. Murat. 
Notwithstanding Mme. Junot's air of 
superiority, displayed in her memoirs,. 
she entered feverishly into the gaieties 
of Paris, and was soon distinguished 
for extravagance amid an extravagant 
society. She had a witty tongue, and 
N. teasingly called her petite peste, 
the little nuisance, always treating 
her and her husband with the greatest 
generosity. Despite this fact, Mme. 
Junot, though excessively anxious to 
prove her intimate friendship with 
N. and his family, was never de- 
terred by gratitude from slandering 
her benefactor in her Memolirs, which 
contain many doubtful statements re- 
garding N. Her extravagance in- 
creased, and when Junot returned to 
Paris in 1806, after his diplomatic 
mission to Lisbon^ he was in dire 
straits largely owing to his wife's 
prodigality, though his own personal 
expenses to some extent accounted 
for his financial condition. When she 
joined him in Lisbon, after his en- 
trance intO' that city, she received 
mudh of the spoil and alsoi valuable 
presents, but even this did not satisfy 
her greed or meet her expenditure. 
She was with her husband through- 
out the Peninsular War. On her re- 
turn to Paris she set herself to annoy 
and displease N. by expending her 
vaunted wit in criticismi, and also by 
the cultivation of people whom he dis- 
liked. In 1 8 10 she was engaged in 
a serious flirtation with Metternioh, 
mudh to Caroline Murat's chagrin, 
who had thought tO' have undivided 
possession of her quondam lover on 



239 



JUNOT 

the occasion of her visit to Paris for 
the wedding of N. and Marie Louise. 
But Caroline had her reveng-e. She 
took care that Junot should hear of 
his wife's defection, with the result 
that Mme. Junot was debarred from 
entering" society for so-me little while, 
so severe was the physical castig'ation 
she received from the hands of her in- 
dignant spouse. When ruin stared her 
in the face on the mental collapse of 
Junot she averted this — as is stated 
on good authority — ^by lending herself 
to the royalist intrigues for restoring 
the Bourbons in 1814. During the 
Hundred Days she was also active 
against her former benefactor. After 
1 81 5 she settled in Rome, cultivating 
the literary and artistic society of that 
city, and writing her Memoirs, which 
were published in 183 1-4 in eighteen 
volumes. 

Memoirs. — 'Mme. Junot occupies the 
opening chapters of her Memoires with 
an account of her childhood and girl- 
hood. Perhaps the most interesting 
event described in these early chap- 
ters is that of the death of N.'s 
father in her mother's house at 
Montpellier. Her father had heard 
that three Corsicans had just arrived 
at a miserable inn in the town, and 
that one of them was very ill. Her 
mother, wtho was a Corsican herself, 
at once bade him inquirei regarding 
them. Her father, who disliked 
Corsicans, was willinig to show M. 
Buonaparte all the attention which 
his situation demanded, but Mme. 
Junot's mother would have nothing 
less . than the conveyance of the in- 
valid to her own house. So it was 
that Mme. Junot's mother was at 
the bedside of N.'s father when he 
breathed his last. He strongly re- 
commended to her his, young son, 
N., who had just left Brienne and 
entered the military school at Paris. 
She was kindness itself to Joseph 
and to his uncle Fesch, who had 
accompanied N.'s father to France — ■ 
a kindness which Joseph never forgot. 

They are full of racy matter, these 
opening chapters. In those days, as 
well as in later life, the authoress tells 
that N. could not relish a joke, and 
that when he found himself the object 
of merriment he grew angry. Mme. 



JUNOT 

Junot's sister, Cecile, who was at 
that time twelve or thirteen years of 
age, told him that since he wore a 
sword he ought to be gallant to ladies, 
but she had laughed at him and he 
had turned on her with the contemptu- 
ous remark: "You are nothing but a 
child." "And you," said Cecile, highly 
indignant, " are nothing but a puss-in- 
boots ! " This excited a general laugh, 
and N. flew into a violent temper, but 
he had sufficient tact to remain silent. 
As a youth N. was fond of airing hiss 
views upon political matters, for 
which he was occasionally checked by 
his elders. His views( were liberal, if 
not revolutionary, and often offended 
and surprised the bourgeois with 
whom he came into touch in those 
days when royalty was regarded as 
almost divine. The Revolution and 
its incidents occupy several chapters, 
and then the memoirist passes on to 
the arrest of Bonaparte, his conduct 
in Corsica, his friendship with Junot, 
his rivalry with Salicetti, his early 
struggles in Paris, Junot's love affair 
with Pauline Bonaparte, and N.'s reply 
to him when he asked for her hand. 
Through the turmoil of the later re- 
volutionary scenes we can see a 
chastened Paris, sketches of metro- 
politan society, and a pen-portrait 
of Mme. Bonaparte, who, with her 
daughter, appeared at a ball at the 
H6tel Thelusson, and who, Mme. 
Junot says, did not seem to be much 
older than Hortense. The Italian cam- 
paign is then touched upon, as is the 
rivalry of Lannes and Mme. Junot's 
brother Albert. Parisian society prior 
to 18 Fructidor is well described. The 
feminine fashions of the day are 
alluded to as Greek and Roman in 
style ; the incroyahles, or dandies, of 
the time are spoken of with good- 
natured sarcasm. In the midst of 
this gaiety comes the bombshell of 
the coup d'etat — what Mme. Junot 
calls the " restoration of society," with 
its fashionable parties and aping of 
the ancien regime. Prior to this an 
account has been, given of the Egyp- 
tian campaign and Junot's part 
therein. He, it will be remembered, 
remained in Egypt after N. betook 
himself thence, and was captured by 
the English on his way home. On 



240 



JUNCT 

his return to France he was appointed 
governor of Paris. The events of 
8 Nov. 1800 are detailed at length. 
The danger in which the Bonaparte 
family existed at that date is alluded 
to, Mme. Mare's Spartan attitude 
could not altogether conceal her un- 
easiness ; her extreme paleness and the 
convulsive movement she made when- 
ever an unusual noise struck her ears 
gave her face a ghastly appearance. 
"In these moments she appeared to 
be truly like the mother of the 
Gracchi, and her situation added 
force to the idea. She had, perhaps, 
more at stake than the famous Roman 
matron. ! She had three sons under 
the stroke of fate, one of whom would 
probably receive the blow even if the 
others escaped. This she strongly 
felt." But the danger passed away, 
and the winter of 1800, with its re- 
storation of order and general security, 
is happily spoken of. Our object here 
is to touch upon such events and cir- 
cumstances in the career of N. as are 
not alluded to by other contemporary 
memoirists, therefore we feel that we 
may leave history to more competent 
judges than Mme. Junot. Her future 
husband is well described : bis fond- 
ness for Burgundian friends, his 
familiarity with the authoress's family, 
his proposals for her hand. The full- 
ness of these Memoirs and their fre- 
quent bad taste make it impossible 
to quote largely from them. The 
authoress's marriage is well described, 
and her presentation to the First Con- 
sul. The consular court comes in for 
a good deal of attention, as does the 
revival of general prosperity and the 
popularity of N. In fact, the conclu- 
sion of the first volume is a regular 
phantasmagoria of the teeming and 
brilliant llife of the Paris of the time. 

Passing quickly over the period of 
Jena and Eylau, with which the third 
volume commences, we occasionally 
come upon a piquant passage, as, 
for example, when Josephilne, play- 
ing patience, received a letter from 
the Emperor, the latter part of which 
no one could decipher until the arrival 
of Junot. A painful interview be- 
tween, the Emperor and Junot is 
described as follows : "When the 
Emperor arrived at Paris the storm 



JUNOT 

had already gathered. The clouds 
had been collecting in Poland. The 
Emperor had received written intima- 
tion that Junot was compromising the 
Grand Duchess of Berg ; that his livery 
was seen at unsuitable hours in the 
court of the Elysde, and that numer- 
ous corroborating circumstances might 
be adduced. It was one of Junot's 
comrades, still living, who preferred 
this accusation. Napoleon's heart was 
wounded by this news, and when Junot 
presented himself before him on his 
return he met with a stern reception 
and constrained language. Junot's 
fiery spirit could not endure the 
Emperor's coldness, and he asked 
an audience. It was immediately 
granted, and was stormy. The Em- 
peror accused him^ without reserve, 
and Junot, sorely wounded, would not 
answer upon any pdint, asserting that 
the Emperor ought to depend upon 
his care for the honour of his 
name. ' Sire ! ' he exclaimed, ' wihen 
at Marseilles I loved the Princess 
Pauline, and you were upon the point 
of g^iving her to me — ^I loved her to 
distraction — ^yet what was my con- 
duct? Was it not that of a man of 
honour? I am not changed since that 
period ; I am still equally devoted to 
you and yours. Sire, your mistrust 
is injurious to me.' The Emperor 
listened, watching him meanwhile with 
marked attention ; then walked the 
room in silence, with his arms crossed 
and a menacing brow. * I am willing 
to believe all that you say,' at length 
he replied ; ' but you are not the less 
guilty of imprudence, and imprudence 
in your situation towards my sister 
amounts to a fault, if not to worse. 
Why, for example, does the Grand 
Duchess occupy your boxes at the 
theatres? Why does she go thither 
in your carriage? Hey ! M. Junot ! 
you are surprised that I should be 
so well acquainted with your affairs 
and those of that little fool Madame 
Murat.' Junot was confounded at 
finding that the Emperor had been 
informed of this circumstance, which, 
nevertheless, was sufficiently import- 
ant, considering the relative situation 
of the two personages, to fix the atten- 
tion not only of the police but of the 
public; nothing but the infatuation 



241 



JUNOT 



JUNOT 



which so often blinds those who' are 
entering- upon the career of ruin 
could have caused his astonishment 
at the natural consequences which 
had followed his conduct. ' Yes, ' 
continued the Emperor, * I know all 
that and many other facts which I 
am willing to look upon as impru- 
dences only, but in which also I see 
serious faults on your part. Once 
more, why this carriage with your 
livery? Your livery should not be 
seen at two o'clock in the morning- 
in the courtyard of the Grand Duchess 
of Berg. You, Junot ! You compro- 
mise my sister ! ' And N. fell into 
a chair. Before proceeding" further I 
wish to explain the motives which, have 
induced me to raise the velil which, 
with my own hand, I have thrown over 
the private life of Junot. All the other 
connexions which he formed acted 
only upon my own happiness, and tin 
no way upon his destiny. Here the 
case was totally different; I do not 
hesitate to ascribe all my husband's 
misfortunes, and even his death, to his 
unhappy entanglement with the Queen 
of Naples. I do not charge this con- 
nexion with real criminality ; I even 
believe that there was only the appear- 
ance of it ; but the suspicious appear- 
ances which really did exist led to the 
most fatal consequences : they kindled 
the lion's wrath. Subsequently, cir- 
cumstances produced an eruption of 
the long-smothered volcano, and the 
tempest burst forth." Junot's de- 
parture for Portug-al consequent 
upon this interview, his troubles with 
General Loison, the melancholy pre- 
sentiments of the Empress, the bicker- 
ing of N. and his brother Luoien, 
the Emperor's family history, and the 
g-aieties of Paris, occupy a largfe space 
in this volume. The news that she had 
been made a duchess is given by Mme. 
Junot in sprightly fashion : "I was on 
duty with Madame at the Tuileries, 
and used to accompany her to the 
family dinners which took place every 
Sunday. On one of these occasions, 
while I was waiting in the salon de 
service in the Pavilion of Flora, I per- 
ceived Savary approaching me. ' Em- 
brace me ! ' cried he ; 'I have g-ood 
news. ' * Tell me the news first, ' said 
I, ' and then I shall see whether it 



be worth the reward.' * Well, then, 
I am a duke.' ' That is news indeed,' 
said I ; * but why should I embrace 
you for that? ' ' My title is the Duke 
of Rovig'o, ' continued he, marching up 
and down the room in an ecstasy of 
joy. 'And what do I care for your 
ridiculous title?' said I in a tone of 
impatience. * Had he told you that 
you are a duchess,' said Rapp, step- 
ping up to me and taking both my 
hands in his, * I am sure you would 
have embraced him as you will em- 
brace me for bringing- you the in- 
telligence.' ' That I will,' salid I, 
presenting my cheek to my old friend 
Rapp, whose frank and cordial man- 
per quite delighted me. * And another 
for Junot,' said be, smiling. 'Well, 
be it so,' answered I, 'and I promise 
you I will inform him that you were 
the first to tell me this good news.' 
'And, moreover,' said Rapp, 'you 
have the best title of the whole batch 
of duchesses. You are the Duchesse 
d'Abrant^s.' I perceived that the Em- 
peror had given Junot the title of the 
Due d'Abrantfes as a particular compli- 
ment to him. I therefore was doubly 
gratified. Junot was so deeply im- 
pressed with the Emperor's kindness 
that, as he afterwards told me, he 
was moved to tears cm receipt of the 
intelligence." 

To detail all the rich biographical 
and personal matter in these Memoirs 
would indeed be a heavy task. Mme. 
Junot attempted the role of historian 
of her time as well in its political as 
in its private aspect. The narrative 
is often as dramatic as it is racy, and 
bristles with personalities and scan- 
dals ; and the malice of an old woman 
writing of her youthful past is ap- 
parent in many passages. Ill-natured 
remarks are so frequent, and awk- 
ward situations so constantly alluded 
to, that we begin to wonder which 
were the most scandalous, the perscms 
who took part in these adventures, of 
the woman who lays them bare. It 
must be admitted that the gossip has 
his or her place in history, but per- 
haps nothing is less likely to assist 
the historian than a mere chrotiique 
scandaleuse. The authoress frequently 
forgets that she is writing of men and 
women whose genius and abilities have 



242 



KAUSCH 

plaeed them in the very front rank of 
humanity in the eyes of posterity. Is 
it necessary that we should be bored 
with the weaknesses of such people? 
Above all, lis it necessary that their 
weaknesses should be insisted upon at 
the expense of their strength ? There 
is a type of memoir much in fashion 
at the present time which sedulously 
collects all the nastinesses lit can retail 
concerning- the great dead, and which 
studiously interlines noticesi concerning 
these when recounting their triumphs 
and virtues. Such a chronicle lis this ; 
and if we know the personages who 
walk through its pages' the more in- 
timately after perusing it, we are left 
with the impression that we know them 
far too well and that it would have 
been better, for the sake of great 
names and for the sake of common 
human decency, had these pages never 
been penned at all. 



K 



Kalisch, Treaty of.— An event of 
considerable importance in Prussian 
history is the Treaty of Kalisch, by 
which Prussia definitely threw off the 
French yoke and joiined with the Allies 
in the War of Liberation. It took its 
rise during the campaign of 1812 in 
a secret military convention between 
Diebitsch, the Russian general, and 
York von Wartenburg, commander of 
the Prussian corps attached to the 
Grande Armee, whereby the Prussian 
Army was neutralized. This step was 
secretly approved by Frederick Wil- 
liam, King of Prussia, who at that 
time was looking for a way of escape 
from his French alliance; he, how- 
ever, still kept up a semblance of 
good relations with France, and when 
the understanding between the Russian 
and Prussian troops became more and 
more evident he even went the length 
of dismissing York von Wartenburg. 
But by this time the popular feeling 
of Prussia had risen in a great tide 
of nationalistic sentiment, and the 
King was forced to take decisive 
action. Being disappointed in his first 
hopes of an alliance with Austria, 
he allied himself with Russia by the 
Treaty of Kalisch, concluded on 



KELLERMANN 

26 Feb, 1813, but not made public 
till 13 March, when Prussia de- 
clared war on her erstwhile ally. 
By the terms of the treaty Russia 
was to provide 150,000 troops, 
Prussia 80,000; the latter country 
was to acquire certain territories in 
northern Germany, while by a secret 
article the Tsar engaged himself to 
restore her to her original status of 
the period before 1806. The effects 
of the treaty on a reduced and im- 
poverished Prussia were soon ap- 
parent. N. had crushed the unhappy 
monarchy almost out of existence, but 
under the influence of the new alliance 
it slowly began to recover. Its army, 
toO', grew with the progress of the 
War of Liberation, and in a few years 
more was destined to accomplish great 
things in the history of Europe. 

K&tzbach, Battle of (Leipsic 
Ca m pal g n).— On 26 Aug. 181 3 
Bliicher's army (95,000 Russians and 
Prussians), after the retreat from 
Dresden, was placed amidst the hilly 
country which surrounds thei Katzbach 
and its tributary, the Neisse. The 
French, 80,000 strong, under Mac- 
donald, had crossed the latter river 
near its junction with, the Katzbach, 
and were in pursuit of their enemy. 
Before the French troops oould be 
properly deployed, however, they were 
attacked by Bliicher, in driving rain- 
storms, and after a fearful struggle 
were defeated. The Allies pressed 
their victory and succeeded in utterly 
demoralizing the worn-out army, cap- 
turing 18,000 prisoners, 103 cannon, 
two eagles, and a vast quantity of 
ammunition and stores. 

Kellermann, Fran9ois ChriS' 
tophe de, Duke of Valmy (1735- 
1820). — Marshal of France; was 
born at Strassburg, and entered the 
French Army, serving in the Seven 
Years' War and in the expedition to> 
Poland in 1771. He was made lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and rose to the rank 
of general. He commanded the army 
in Alsace ; and won a great victory at 
Valmy, from which he afterwards took 
his title. For a time he served in 
the army on the Moselle, but because 
of a disagreement with his general, 
Custine, who accused Kellermann of 
insubordination, he was kept in Paris 



243 



KLI^BER 

for thirteen months. Until the Italian 
campaigrn, when his army was incor- 
porated with N.'s, he commanded the 
Army of the Alps, suppressed a rising 
at Lyons and repelled the Austrians on 
the south-eastern border. Owing- to 
his age and the rising up of a younger 
generation of able officers, Kellermann 
retired from actiive military service. 
He was appointed senator in i8oo, 
when N.'s power was established, and. 
was of great assistance to the Em- 
peror, who valued his advice on the 
question of the administration of the 
army. His long experience caused 
him to be much appreciated in 
managing the home defence forces, 
and in 1803 he was named honorary 
marshal of France. He was created 
duke in 1808, and raised to the house 
of peers in 1814, when he sided with 
the Bourbons on the fall of N. The 
latter has said that he was a brave 
soldier, but that he would never have 
made a very excellent commander. 
Kellermann's name will perhaps best 
be remembered by his famous cavalry 
charge on the field of Marengo, to 
which the victory was immediately 
due. He died in Paris in 1820. 

Kl^ber, Jean Baptiste (1753- 
1800). — Was born at Strassburg on 
9 March 1753, the son of a builder. 
Destined for the profession of archi- 
tect, he Was educated in his native city 
and at Paris. A military career had 
always attracted him, and when, in 
return for his opportune assistance in 
a tavern brawl, two German nobles 
Dffered their influence, he accepted it 
and obtained entrance to the military 
school at Munich. In 1772 he gained 
a commission in one of the Austrian 
regiments of the Low Countries. After 
ten years' service, being still a lieu- 
tenant owing to his humble birth, in 
a fit of disgust he applied for leave 
of absence and returned to Strassburg, 
where his relations persuaded him tO' 
relinquish the service and resume his 
former profession. This course he 
adopted, and he was next appointed 
inspector of public works at Belfort, 
where he further studied fortification 
and military science. On the break- 
ing out of the Revolution he enlisted 
Sn the Haut-Rhin volunteers, and on 
account of his military knowledge was 



KL^BER 

at once made adjutant, and later lieu- 
tenant-colonel. His corps was called 
to Mainz, where, in the defence of that 
town, K16ber so distinguished himself 
that, though imprisoned by the Con- 
vention, together with the rest of the 
garrison, he was quickly reinstated, 
and in Aug. 1793 promoted general 
of brigade, despite the fact that 
when at Paris and called upon to 
bear witness against Custines, who 
was suspected of treachery in the 
affairs relating to Mainz, he yet had 
the courage tO' speak in his favour 
before the revolutionary tribunal. 
K16ber next proceeded to La Vendue, 
where he agalin earned great distinc- 
tion, and in two months' time was 
further promoted. He was wounded 
in the engagement at Torfou, but 
defeated the Royalists at Le Mans, 
Savenay and Noirmoutiers. He was, 
however, recalled by the Directory for 
the open expression of his opinion 
that the Vendeans should be treated 
leniently. In April 1794 he was again 
reinstated, and, with the army of the 
Sambre and Meuse, showing charac- 
teristic skill and courage in the many 
engagements around Charleroi and in 
the victory of Fleurus, where he com- 
manded the left wing of the French 
Army opposite the Prince of Orange, 
whom he defeated at the bridge of 
Marchiennes. In command of three 
divisions, his skill in manoeuvres was 
notable throughout the whole of this 
campaign, in July at Mons, which he 
took, also Louvain, and again at 
Liege and Maestricht, the latter place 
only surrendering after eleven days' 
fighting in the trenches by the be- 
siegers. In 1795 he commanded the 
passage of the Rhine before Dussel- 
dorff, and after the first retreat of 
Jourdan and Pichegru refused to 
accept the command which had be- 
longed to the latter when offered to 
him by the Directory. He in a great 
measure contributed to the successes 
of Jourdan in 1796, and fought a bril- 
liant rear-guard action at the bridge of 
Neuwied. After the retreat to the 
Rhine, Kleber declined the chief com- 
mand of the army, and withdrew into 
private life in 1798. He, however, 
accepted a division Hn the Egyptian 
expedition under N., and in the 



244 



KL^BER 

first engagfement at Alexandria was 
wounded in the head. This prevented 
him taking any further part iin the 
Campaign of tlie Pyramids, and N. 
appointed him governor of Alex- 
andria. In the Syrian campaign he 
commanded a division at the siege of 
Acre, took El Arish, Gaza, and Jaffa, 
and finally won the notable victory of 
Mount Tabor on 15 Aprlil 1799. When 
N. returned to France at the end of 
1799 he left K16ber in command of 
the French forces. The reason for 
this vi^as that K16ber was a great 
favourite with the army. 

The trust which had thus devolved 
upon him was not wholly desirable, for 
it was onerous to the last degree. He 
had but 15,000 troops, while the Turks 
were recruiting theirs in every direc- 
tion. He was also wlithout money, 
ammunition was reduced to almost 
nothing, and reinforcements from 
France an impossibility. Disposing 
his troops in the most advantageous 
manner and defeating the Turks in 
several engagements, he found iit 
necessary to enter into the conven- 
tion of El Arish. Sir Sidney Smith 
directed these negotiations with 
Kleber in the/ name of the Turks and 
the Viziier. But later Kleber received 
an intimation from Sir Sidney to in- 
form- him "that the English Govern- 
ment had not approved of this treaty, 
and that the commander of the 
English fleet in the Mediterranean 
had orders to oppose lits execution." 
KI6ber then had recourse to arms, 
and to rouse his troops had copies 
printed of the letter from Admiral 
Keith proposing a humiliating cap- 
itulation and distriibuted among them. 
He attacked the Turks at Heliopolis 
with a force of 10,000 men, whilst the 
enemy numbered 60,000, yet he de- 
feated them utterly. Next he retook 
Cairo, which had revolted, and from 
the contributions levied on the place 
as punishment for rebellion was at 
last in possession of finances for his 
army. Kleber then raised a body of 
Copts, together with a Greek legion ; 
he developed al camel corps, arranged 
a committee of administration to pre- 
vent wasteful expense, and then, on 
3 June 1800, left Cairo to make a 
rapid progress through Egypt, as he 



KONIQSWARTHA 

was anxious to conclude a separate 
treaty with the Turks, whom he wished 
toi divide from England. On 14 June, 
after having reviewed the Greek legion, 
he returned to Cairo to view some 
alterations being made in bis resi- 
dence. While he was talking with 
the architect on the terrace of the 
garden he was assassinated by a 
fanatiic named Solyman (q.v.), who 
had concealed himself in the cistern, 
and offering Kleber a letter, stabbed 
him whilst the general unfolded the 
paper. This happened on the same 
day that his friend and comrade 
Desaix fell at Marengo. Their 
names are always associated as those 
of the two bravest among N.'s great 
generals, N. himself saying: "Of all 
the generals I ever had) under me 
Desaix and Kleber possessed the 
greatest talents. . . . Kldber and 
Desaix were an irreparable loss to 
France." The remains of K16ber 
were interred with great pomp, and 
a monument erected to his memory. 
N. caused a medal to be struck on 
the occasion, bearing on one side 
the bust of Kleber, with the words : 
"General KMber, born in 1753, assas- 
sinated at Cairo the 14th of June 
1800," and on the reverse: "Sur- 
named, from his stature and in- 
trepidity, the French' Hercules. He 
braved death a thousand times in 
the field and fell at Cairo under the 
dagger of an assassin." As a second 
in command Kleber was unparalleled, 
but some strange distrust of his own 
powers rendered him inferior as a 
commander-in-chief. His conduct of 
affairs in Egypt under the most diffi- 
cult and dangerous circumstances 
amply prove that his gifts of admini- 
stration were as great as those he 
displayed as a general. 

Kd nigs berg, Treaty of {see 
Tilsit.) — A supplemental treaty to 
that of Tilsit, concerning the with- 
drawal of French troops from Prussia 
under the proviso that full payment 
was to be made to France of what 
was due to her for outstanding war 
contributions. If this condition were 
recognized they were to be withdrawn' 
by I Oct. 1807. 

Konigswartha, Battle of.— An in- 
cident of the Leipsic campaign. On 



245 



KRASNOI 

19 May 18 13 a division of Italians, 
under Bertrand, while reposing- in 
loose order after dinner in a wood, 
were surprised and totally routed by 
Barclay de Tolly, who was in com- 
mand of 15,000 Russians. Bertrand's 
division dispersed and took refugfe in 
the neutral territory of Bohemia; thus 
the bulk of the 20,000 Italians escaped. 

Krasnoi, Battle of (Moscow 
Campaign). — During the disastrous 
retreat from Moscow the Russian 
advance-guard endeavoured, on 19 
Nov. 1812, to head off the French 
column. N. decided to halt for a day 
to let his troops close up, then attacked 
the enemy and manag^ed to clear tlie 
way, at the cost, however, of leaving 
Ney and the rear-guard to their fate. 
Ney, by an heroic and daring night 
march, accompanied by terrific losses, 
succeeded in rejoining the main body, 
but with only 800 out of his 6,000 men. 

Kuim, Battle of (Leipsic Cam. 
paign).— On 29 Aug. 1813, after 
the French victory at Dresden (q.v.), 
the Austrians and Russians under 
the Prince of Schwartzenberg found 
it necessary to take up a position 
behind the village of Kulm, as their 
retreat was barred by a French 
corps under Vandamme. But disaster 
awaited the erstwhile victors : the 
Allies received reinforcements, and a 
corps under Kleist succeeded in taking 
the French in the rear. Vandamme 
and his men fought magnificently, 
but being greatly outnumbered were 
at last utterly defeated. They lost all 
their cannon, and a force of 40,000 
was only survived by bands of ex- 
hausted stragfglers. 



Lab6doyere, Charles Angelique 
Fran9ois Huchet (1786 - 1815).— 

Was born at Paris on 17 April 1786; 
descended from an old Breton family. 
He entered the army, and became aide- 
de-camp to Marshal Lannes and sub- 
sequently to Eugene de Beauharnais. 
In 181 1 he commanded a battalion, 
and in 1812 was promoted colonel by 
N. During the retreat from Moscow, 
as well as at Liitzen, Bautzen, and 
Kolberg, his courage and valour were 



LABElDOYERE 

conspicuous, and he was made general 
of brigade. 

After the first abdication he re- 
mained in Paris, but thoiug-h still 
retaining his position in the army 
made no secret of his Imperialist 
sympathies. His handsome appear- 
ance and frank and boyish manner 
made him a great favourite, and 
many were the attempts made by 
the royalist ladies to convert him to 
the Bourbon cause. Together with 
Charles de Flahault, his cousin, he 
was the leader of the young and ardent 
group of Bonapartists who gathered 
about Queen Hortense. They publicly 
discarded' wearing the Cross of the 
Legion of Honour on account of the 
base uses to which it waS' put by the 
Bourbons. 

On N.'s return from Elba, Lab^- 
doy^re, then stationed at Grenoble as 
colonel of the seventh of the line, went 
over to his former master, togfether 
with his men. At Waterloo it was he 
whoi carried many of N.'s orders dur- 
ing- the battle, and when all was over 
he was one of the last officers to leave 
the ghastly scene. Back in the capital, 
he championed the fallen Emperor's 
cause and that of Napoleon II. In 
the Upper Chamber he scathingly re- 
minded its members — all of them, for 
interested motives, rang^ed openly 
or secretly ag-ainst their former ruler 
— of their oathis of fidelity so recently 
taken. 

" Shall we never hear anything- other 
than perjuries in this place? " he said 
in his indignation. 

This courage was toi cost him dear, 
a fact of which he seems to have had 
some premonition, for, dining- one 
evening- at the house of Queen Hor- 
tense, it was noticed that thirteen 
guests were present. Overhearing a 
comment upon this, Labedoyfere laugh- 
ingly bade the rest be easy, for, by 
the way things were shaping-, it would 
be his name that would be missing 
from the roll-call a year later. His 
cousin, Flahault, at once crossed the 
frontiers, but Labedoyfere, anxious for 
his wife and child, delayed his depar- 
ture from Paris, and was arrested. 
He fell a victim to royalist hatred 
and vindictiveness, the Duchesse 
d'Angoul^me (q-v.) being foremost in 



246 



LA FAVORITA 

the ranks of those who howled for 
blood. Labedoy^re was tried sum- 
marily by court-martial, and shot on 
the plain of Grenelle on 19 Aug". 
1815. 

La Favorita.— The battle which is 
known by this name took place on 
16 Jan. 1797 during- the Rivoli cam- 
paign and shortly before the capitula- 
tion of Mantua. It was foug-ht on the 
road leading- to a country seat of the 
Dukes of Mantua, La, Favorita, 
between the French under S^rurier 
and the Austrians under Provera. 
The latter had to surrender his entire 
force and equipment. 

Lafayette, Marie Paul Metier, 

Marquis de (1757-1834) Was the 

son of an officer who fell at Minden 
a few months before Lafayette was 
born. His mother died while he was 
yet an infant. He inherited a large 
fortune, and when only seventeen con- 
tracted a marriage with, an heiress, 
Mile, de Novilles. When but twenty 
years of age, and regardless of bril- 
liant offers of promotion at court, he 
fitted out a ship at Ms own expense 
and proffered his services to Washing- 
ton in aid of American independence. 
These were accepted, and for two 
years he fought in the War of Seces- 
sion, was wounded at the Battle of 
Brandywine, and in the retreat of 
Barren Hill evinced great courage and 
tactical skill. Hearing of the pos- 
sibility of an outbreak of war between 
Great Britain and France, he returned 
to his native country. During his 
visit he persuaded Louis XVI. tO' 
send out 4,000 men under his com- 
mand and that of Count Roohambeau 
to the assistance of Washington ; and 
to this reinforcement much of the final 
success of the American arms was due. 
Lafayette defended Virginia against 
Lord Cornwallis, whom he forced to 
capitulate at York Town. He returned 
to France in 1785 when only twenty- 
eight years of age with a! glorious 
reputation, and was elected member 
of the states-general for Auvergne. 
He was subsequently elected vice- 
president of the Assembly, was in 
Paris during the taking of the Bastille, 
and made every effort to produce a 
tone of greater moderation in the 
revolutionary party. When the mob 



LA FiRE GHAMPENOISE 

attacked Versailles he succeeded in 
rescuing the lives of the royal family, 
and during their terrible drive to Paris 
he rode the whole way by the side 
of their carriage for the purpose of 
protecting them. He was suspected 
of having assisted their flight to 
Varennes, and after this incident his 
popular'ity waned considerably. He 
was placed in command of the army 
on the frontier, and by his organizing 
skill succeeded iin infusing into it some 
kind of order and discipline; but he 
reported unfavourably of the Jacobin 
Club, was deprived of his command 
and forced to fly from France. He 
was arrested in Austria and imprisoned 
for five years at Olmiitz, where he was 
joined by his wife and daughters, who 
had escaped from the dungeons of 
Robespierre after fifteen months' cap- 
tivity. On his release the Directorate 
refused permissiion for him to return: 
to France, but he re-entered his native 
land after 18 Brumaire, when he was 
received with favour by N., who made 
him a counsellor, and offered him the 
position of senator. He voted against 
N.'s appointment to the life consulate 
and as emperor, and retired from 
public life until after the Hundred 
Days, when be took part in the pro- 
visional government which directed 
affairs until the Allies re-entered Paris. 
The government of the Restoration 
showed him little favour, for his 
opinions were too liberal, and he was 
suspected of republicanism. In 1824 
he returned to the United States, 
where he was received with the 
greatest enthusiasm. Its government 
voted him in land and money a sum 
equivalent to ;^30,C)oo, and he was 
the hero of the hour. Returning to 
France, he took a leading part in the 
revolution of 1830, and greatly assisted 
Louis Philippe in obtaining the crown, 
as he regarded the constitutional 
monarchy as the best of republics. He 
died in 1834 at the age of seventy- 
seven. 

La F^re Champenoise, Battle 
of. — On 25 March 1814, during the 
Allies' advance on Paris, the Russian 
and Austrian horse utterly defeated 
Marmont's and Mortier's corps near 
the village of La F6re Champenoise, 
taking 2,500 prisoners and fifty guns. 



247 



LAHARPE 

Laharpe, Frederic Cesar (1754- 

1838). — Swiss politician; born at 
Rolle, in the canton of Vaud, Swit- 
zerland. He became president of the 
Helvetia Republic in 1798, and held 
this office for two years. As tutor 
to Alexander I. of Russia he was 
known as the Swiss Laharpe; and 
be was (instrumental in biasings the 
opinions of his royal pupil toi such 
an extent that, throug-bout his reign, 
Alexander had leanings toi the ideal- 
istic side of philanthropy. Laharpe 
was also- able to be of service to his 
country by interesting- the Tsar in 
Swiss institutions, and at the Congress 
of Vienna he represented Tessin and 
Vaud. He wrote Reflexions on the 
True Nature of the Consulship for 
Life, which showed N. as a tyrant, 
and was the outcome of Laharpe' s 
recent visit to Par'is. During his 
whole life he exercised a restraining 
influence on Alexander L, who in his 
turn became as powerful as his 
hostile neighbour the Emperor of 
France. Laharpe died at Lausanne 
in 1838. 

Lannes, Jean, Due de Montebello 
(1769-1809).— One of N.'s most cele- 
brated marshals, to whom he was 
greatly attached. Born at Lectoure 
(Gers), thic soo of a stable-keeper, be 
had few opportunities for education. 
He was destined for a civil life, but 
on the outbreak of the Spanish War 
he joined a battalion of volunteers at 
Gers, and in 1792 he became sergeant- 
major of a division. Subsequently he 
distinguished himself and was pro- 
moted chef de brigade, but lost his 
position in 1795, when in Thermidor 
the army was reorganized. On the 
declaratioin of war with Italy he re- 
enlisted as a private in the reserve, 
and this time came under the direct 
notice of N., who promoted him, 
general of briigade. He accompanied 
N. to Egypt, and fought with distinc- 
tion in several campaigns, exhibiting 
marked strategic ability during the 
retreat from Syria. He rendered sig- 
nal service toi N. on 18 Brumaire, and 
became coimmandant of the consular 
guard. In 1800, thanks to Lannes's 
initiative and the cool, collected man- 
ner in which he carried out his instruc- 
tions, the battles of Montebello and 



LAON 

Marengo became French victories. He 
was created Due de Montebello a few 
years later. The following year N. 
sent him on a diplomatic mission to 
Portugal, but this is the only occa- 
sion on which he w^as so employed. 
Created a marshal of France on the 
establishment of the Empire, he com- 
m.anded the left of the grande armee 
at Austerlitz:. His division was 
stationed on a rugged eminence, and 
constituted one of the seven corps of 
the reserve of the imperial guard. N. 
entrusted Lannes and Murat with the 
defence of this position, and a bril- 
liant cavalry charge was directed 
from this point which severed the 
enemy's line. Lannes also served in 
the striking campaign of 1806 at 
Saalfeld and at Jena ; and his v^igorous 
and able conduct at Friedland was only 
surpassed by his further conspicuous 
comcmand at Tudela in the Spanish 
campaign. In i8og he took possession 
of Saragossa, which he captured after 
a famous defence. It was at this time 
that he was created Due de Montebello 
and given supreme command of the 
advance-guard. He was enabled to 
render service in the Austrian War, 
and led the French across the Danube, 
a task requiring the utmost courage 
and resolution. On the field of Aspern- 
Essling he was mortally wounded, and 
as he was being carried through the 
zone of fire he was met by the Em- 
peror, whose self-control utterly broke 
down even in the midst of battle at 
sight of the pitiful condition of his old 
comrade. Thus passed away a man 
of extraordinary courage and high 
principle for whom N. cherished a 
most profound affection. 

Laon, Battle of (Allied Invasion 
of France). — After meeting with a re- 
pulse by N. at Craonne the Allied 
forces fell back on Laon, a town 
situated on a terraced hill. Bliicher 
arranged his forces in and around the 
city, and on 9 March 181 4 he was 
attacked by the French. After severe 
fighting the French met with partial 
successes in the suburbs, but were 
unable to make good the^ir holding, 
and N. was obliged to retreat the 
following day on Soissons. The losses 
were fairly even on both sides, between 
five and six thousand men each. 



248 



LA PALUD 

La Palud, Convention of.— At 
th* beg-inning of the Hundred Days the 
most serious royalist opposition which 
N. encountered was that of the Due 
d'Angouleme, who, with a Proven9al 
army of 10,000, purposed marching- on 
Lyons. On the way he was twice 
victorious over small bands of im- 
perialists, but was checked at Valance 
by the news that Grouchy was in his 
path, whereupon his volunteer army 
failed him. By the Convention of La 
Palud (8 April 181 5) he and his officers 
were allowed to go free, while his 
troops, on laying down their arms, 
were to be pardoned. 

La Rothifere.— A battle of the 
Allied campaign in France, fought on 
2 Feb. 1814. After some temporary 
success at Brienne, N., with about 
40,000 French, drew his line with its 
centre at La Rothifere, to which village 
his troops clung obstinately, although 
attacked by greatly superior numbers. 
N. was, however, eventually forced to 
retreat across the Aube after a san- 
guinary battle lasting two days. Each 
side lost about five thousand killed 
and wounded. 

Larrey, Jean Dominique, Baron 
(1766-1842).— French surgeon ; born at 
Beaudean, near Bagn^res-de-Bigorre. 
He entered the navy and served his 
apprenticeship at Toulouse, and there 
began studying surgery under his 
uncle, Alexis Larrey, chief surgeon 
of the hospital. In 1787 Larrey pro- 
ceeded to Paris, and there was made 
auxiliary-surgeon to the royal marine. 
A little later he embarked on La Vigi- 
lante as major-surgeon to the expedi- 
tion to South America. On his return 
to Paris he again resumed his medical 
studies, and became second surgeon 
to the institution where Sabatier was 
chief. In 1792 he joined the army of 
the Rhine, and there invented the "fly- 
ing ambulance." He was next placed 
in charge of the military hospitals of 
Toulon, Antftes, and Nice, and in that 
of the first named he founded a school 
of surgery and anatomy. After going 
through several campaigns he became 
professor at the School of Medicine 
and Military Surgery at Val-de-Grdce 
at Paris. He was then called upon 
by N. to accompany him to Italy 
(1796). At Frioul he checked an 



LASALLE 

epidemic, and was decorated by N. 
Egypt was his next destination, and 
there he superintended the wounded 
under Desgenettes, and was later 
w^ounded at St. Jean d'Acre while 
attending to the fallen soldiers ; 
at Alexandria he killed all his horses 
to supply his patients with food, stores 
having run low. On bis return to 
Paris he became chief surgeon of the 
consular guard; in 1804 officer of the 
Leg^ion of Honour; in 1805 chief sur- 
geon of the imperial guard. He was 
indefatigable in his labours through- 
out the campaigns in Germany, Prussia 
and Spain. At Eylau the intense cold 
made his work hazardous and difficult, 
but he carried it through w'ith great 
bravery ; and in Spain, whUe attend- 
ing the French and English troops, he 
fell a victim to typhus. At Wagram, 
for his valour and devotion, he was 
created baron and received an endow- 
ment, and a little later a pension of 
3,000 francs, which in 181 4 was with- 
drawn by the Bourbons for some time, 
though eventually restored. In 18 12 
Larrey was made chief surgeon of the 
grande armee by special decree, and 
throughout the Russian campaign dis- 
played remarkable courage and devo- 
tion, often operating in the open air. 
At Waterloo he was made a prisoner 
after being wounded. N. speaks of 
"the virtuous Larrey" as the "sol- 
diers' friend," and left Mm a large 
bequest in his will, always having held 
him. in the greatest esteem. At the 
Restoration Larrey was appointed 
chief surgeon to the Gardes Roy ales, 
and was one of the first members of 
the Academy of Medicine. He wrote 
on army surgery and the treatment of 
wounds, and was in charge of the 
medical section of the work containing 
the scientific results of the Eg>'ptian 
expedition. Baron Larrey died at 
Lyons in 1842, and a statue to him 
stands in front of the church of La 
Val-de-Grice, Paris. 

Lasaiie, Antoine Chevalier 
Louis Coilinet, Comte (1775-1809). 
— Entered the French Army at the age 
of eleven, and three years later was 
a lieutenant. During the Revolution 
he enlisted in the ranks, and by 1795 
had regained the commission he had 
lost on account of his aristocracy by 



249 



WAS CASES 

sheer bravery and quality of leader- 
ship. He distinguished himself as a 
staff officer with the army of Italy. 
He accompanied N. to Egypt, and 
there saved Davout's life in action. 
In 1800 he was promoted colonel, and 
in the campaig^n of the same year had 
two horses killed under him and broke 
seven swords. He served at Auster- 
litz as general of brigade, leading the 
light cavalry, while in 1806, after 
Jena, he captured the fortress of Stet- 
tin, though only supported by a force 
of 600 hiussars and not a single piece 
of artillery. For this feat of arms he 
was made general of division ; he 
served in the Polish campaign, and 
saved Murat's life at Heilsberg. On 
the outbreak of the Peninsular War 
Lasalle commanded one of the cavalry 
divisions, and in several battles dis- 
tinguished himself, such was the 
vigour of his attack. One of the 
cavalry divisions of the grande armee 
was entrusted to Lasalle by N., and 
in the Austrian campaign he again dis- 
tinguished himself, but at Wagram he 
was killed at the head of his men. Not 
only was Lasalle an almost perfect 
cavalry commander, but he possessed 
to a great degree the talents and in- 
stincts of a great leader. In 1891 his 
remains were brought from: Austria to 
the Invalides, while in 1893 a statue 
to him was erected at Luneville. 

Las Cases, Emmanuel Auguste 
Dieudonn6, Marquis de (1766-1842). 
— Was born at the chateau of Las 
Cases, near Revel, Languedoc, in 
1766. He was educated at the military 
school in Paris, and at the age of six- 
teen he left it to join the navy (1782), 
becoming a lieutenant in 1789. He 
saw service in the West Indies, and 
spent some years at San Domingo. 
At the outbreak of the French Revolu- 
tion, owing to his connexion with 
the old nobility, he emigrated, taking 
refuge in England in 1792. He sup- 
ported himself in London by giving 
lessons and writing under the name 
of Le Sage. In 1799 he published 
his Atlas Historique et Genealogique , 
which met with considerable success. 
Returning to France during the Con- 
sulate, he vainly tried to procure em- 
ployment, and it was not until 1809 
that he attracted the notice of N., who 



LAS CASES 

appointed him his chamberlain, wh.le 
in the following year he was created 
a count of the empire. N, soon dis- 
covered his good qualities, while Las 
Cases on his part gave his loyal 
adherence to the Emperor, who ac- 
cordingly entrusted him with many 
important offices of state. During the 
first Restoration he was appointed a 
councillor of state, but in this capacity 
he refused to sign any document for 
depriving N. of the throne. He re- 
turned to the Emperor's side during 
the Hundred Days, and after Waterloo 
accompanied him to Rochefort, while 
he acted as N.'s mouthpiece in the 
negotiations on board the Belter ophon. 
It appears somewhat doubtful as to 
whether it was his genuine wish to 
accompany N. to St. Helena, as many 
suppose to have been the case, or that 
circumstances made it impossible for 
him to withdraw. Evidence seems to 
support the latter view. During his 
exile Las Cases compiled his Memorial 
de Sainte-HSlene, which is a record 
of N.'s conversations, including his 
various opinions, during the first 
months of his captivity. In Nov. 1816 
Las Cases was arrested, on account 
of a letter in which he had criticized 
N.'s treatment by the governor in too 
strong terms, and was transported to 
the Cape, where he was for some time 
confined, later being transferred to 
Frankfurt. On N.'s death he was 
permitted to return to France, and 
in 1 83 1 he was elected to the cham- 
ber of deputies for St. Denis. He 
died at Passy-sur-Seine on 15 May 
1842. 

Memoirs. — "Circumstances, the 
most extraordinary," says Las Cases, 
"have long kept me near the most 
extraordinary man that ever existed." 
He continues : " I collected and re- 
corded day by day all that I saw of 
N., all that I heard him say during 
the period of eighteen months in which 
I was constantly about his person." 
The work is therefore a species of 
diary, relating to the life of N. after 
his surrender. It Is, of course. Im- 
possible to give in this place anything 
like a full summary of all the conversa- 
tions that Las Cases bad with the 
Emperor. It caii only be by passages 
selected from a work which reviews 



250 



LAS CASES 

the whole of N.'s f>olitical and per- 
soned career that we can come to the 
heart of these Memoirs. One of the 
first conversations at St. Helena that 
Las Cases had with the Emperor 
turned upon the subject of the Council 
of State : 

'"The Council of State,' said the 
Emperor, ' was generally composed of 
well-informed, skilful and honest men. 
Fermont and Boulay, for example, 
were certainly of this class. Notwith- 
standing- the immense law suits which 
they conducted, and the vast emolu- 
ments they enjoyed, I should not 
be surprised to learn that they are 
not now in very flourishing circum- 
stances.' The Emperor employed the 
Councillors of State individually in 
every case, and with advantage. As 
a whole, they were his real council 
— ^his mind in deliberation, as the 
ministers were his mind in execution. 
At the Council of State were prepared 
the laws which the Emperor presented 
to the legislative body, a circumstance 
which rendered it altogether one of 
the elements of the legislative power. 
In the Council the Emperor's decrees 
and his rules of public administration 
were drawn up ; and there the plans 
of his ministers were examined, dis- 
cussed and corrected," 

Las Cases says: "Contrary to the 
general opinion, in which' I myself 
once participated, the Emperor is far 
from' possessing a strong constitution. 
His limbs are large, but Ms fibres are 
relaxed. With a very expanded chest, 
he is constantly labour'ing under the 
effects of cold. His body is subject 
to the influence of th6 slightest acci- 
dents. The smell of paint is sufficient 
to make him ill ; certain dishes, or 
the slightest degree of damp, imme- 
diately take a severe effect on him. 
His body is far from being a body 
of iron, as is generally supposed : all 
his strengfth is in his mlind. His 
prodigious exertions abroad and his 
incessant labours at homie are known 
to everyone. No sovereign ever 
underwent so much bodily fatigue. 
The most remarkable instance of the 
Emperor's activity and exertion was 
his riding post from Valladolid to 
Burgos (a distance of thirty-five 
Spanish leagues) in five hours and a 



LAS CASES 

half — that is to say, upwards of seven 
leagues an hour." 

An interesting ride through the 
valley with the Emperor is described 
by Las Cases : " After breakfast he 
directed me to ride out with him on 
horseback. We rode along by the 
side of the gum' trees, beyond the 
confines of Longwood, and then 
attempted to descend into a very 
steep and deeply furrowed valley, 
whose sides were covered with sand 
and loose stones, interspersed with 
brambles. We were obliged to dis- 
mount. The Emperor desired General 
Gourgaud to turn off to one side with 
the horses and the two grooms "who 
accompanied us, and insisted oni con- 
tinuing his journey on foot, amidst 
the difficulties which surrounded us. 
I gave him my arm, and, with a great 
deal of trouble, we succeeded in clam- 
bering over the ridges. The Emperor 
lamented the loss of his youthful 
agility, and accused me of being more 
active than himself. He thought that 
there was a greater difference in this 
respect than the trifling disproportion 
of our ages would justify. I told him 
that the pleasure of serving him made 
me forget my age. As we were going 
along he observed that anyone who 
could have seen us at that time would 
recognize without difficulty the rest- 
lessness and impatience of the French 
character. ' In fact,' said he, 'none 
but Frenchmen would ever think of 
doing what we are now about. ' " 

N, delighted in criticizing the 
characteristics of bis generals, their 
feats of arms and behaviour on the 
field. In this way he spoke of Lannes, 
Duroc, Corbineau, and, in fact, from 
time to time of practically every mar- 
shal or general who had served him. 
On learning of the execution of Mar- 
shal Ney the Emperor alluded to him 
as a "martyr." He said that he had 
been ill-attacked and as ill-defended. 
His opinions of many of the celebrated 
men with whom he had mingled, 
Metternlch, Bassano, Cambac^r^s, 
Fouch6, Talleyrand, are scattered 
throughout these Memoirs in such a 
manner as to defy collection. "Tal- 
leyrand," said the Emperor, "was 
always in a state of treason, but 
it was in partnership with fortune. 



251 



LAS CASES 

His circumspection was extreme; he 
treated bis friends as if they might 
in future become his enemies, and 
he behaved to his enemies as if they 
might some time or other become his 
friends. M. de Talleyrand had always 
been, in my opinion, hostile to the 
Faubourg- St. Germain. In the affair 
of the divorce he was for the Empress 
Josephine. It was he who urged the 
war with Spain, though in public be 
had the art^to appear averse to it." 
Thus it was from a kind of spite that 
N. made choice of Valengay as the 
residence of Ferdinand. "In short," 
said the Emperor, "Talleyrand was 
the principal instrument and the 
active cause of the death of the Due 
d'Enghien." 

"Fouch6," said N., "was the Tal- 
leyrand of the clubs and Talleyrand 
was the Fouche of the drawling-rooms. 
Intrigue was to Foucbd a necessary of 
life, but intrigue at all times, in all 
places, in all Ways, and with all per- 
sons. Nothing ever came to light but 
he was found to have a hand in it. 
He made it his sole business to> look 
out for something that he might be 
meddling with." 

In a work which deals) with world 
events as most memoirs deal with 
domestic and social affairs, it lis ex- 
ceedingly difficult to pick out the 
salient facts. Speaking of the origins 
of the war with Russia, N. said : "No 
events are trifling with regard to 
nations and sovereigns, for it is such 
that govern their destinies. For some 
time a misunderstanding had sprung 
up between France and Russia. France 
reproached Russia with the violation of 
the Continental System, and Russia re- 
quired an indemnification for the Duke 
of Oldenburg, and raised other preten- 
sions. Russian troops were approach- 
ling the Duchy of Warsaw, and a 
French army was forming in the north 
of Germany. Yet we were far from 
being determined on war, when, all of 
a sudden, a new Russian army com- 
menced its march towards the duchy ; 
and, as an ultimatum, an insolent note 
was presented at Paris by the Russian 
ambassador, who, in the event of 
its non-acceptance, threatened to quit 
Paris in eight days. I considered this 
as" a declaration of war. It was long 



LAS CASES 

since I had been accustomed to this 
sort ofi tone. I was not in the habit 
of allowing myself to be anticipated. 
I could march to Russia at the head 
of the rest of Europe; the enterprise 
was popular ; the cause was one which' 
interested Europe, It was the last 
effort that remained to France. Her 
fate, and that of the new European 
system, depended on the struggle. 
Russia was the last resource of Eng- 
land. The peace of the whole world 
rested with Russia. The event could 
not be doubtful. I commenced my 
march, but when I reached the frontier 
I, tO' whom Russia had declared war 
by withdrawing her ambassador, still 
considered it my duty to send mine 
(Lauriston) to the Emperor Alexander 
at Wilna : he was rejected, and the 
war commenced ! " 

Occasionally, too, N. spoke of his 
family. Of his mother and his sister 
Pauline he said: "Paul/ne was too 
careless and extravagant. She might 
have been immensely rich,, consider- 
ing all that I gave her, but s.he gave 
all away in her turn. Her mother fre- 
quently lectured her on this subject, 
and told her that she would die in a 
hospital. Madame, however, carried 
her parsimony to a most ridiculous 
extreme. I offered to furnish her with 
a very considerable monthly income 
on condition that she would spend it. 
She, on the other hand, was very will- 
ing to receive the money provided she 
were permitted to hoard it up. This 
arose not so much from covetousness 
as excess of foresight ; all her fear was 
that she might one day be reduced to 
beggary." 

Regarding Joseph, he said : " His 
qualities are only suited to private life. 
In the discharge of the high duties 
which I confided to him he did the 
best he could. His intentions were 
good, and therefore the principal fault 
rested not so much with him as with 
me who raised him above bis proper 
sphere." 

The burning of Moscow, according to 
N.,was not the act of the population 
thereof. He said : * ' The people were 
far from having plotted that atrocity. 
Even they themselves delivered up 
to us three or four hundred criminals 
who had escaped from prison and 



252 



LAS CASES 

fired the town." " But, Sire, may I 
presume to ask," said Las Cases, "if 
Moscow had not been burnt, did not 
your Majesty intend to establish your 
quarters there?" "Certainly," an- 
swered the Emperor, "and I should 
then have presented the singular spec- 
tacle of an army wintering" in the 
midst of a hostile nation that was press- 
ing upon it from aU points; it would 
have been the ship beset by the ice." 

Speaking of the Waterloo' campaign 
at great length after breakfast one 
morning, he said that the situation of 
France was critical but not desperate 
after the Battle of Waterloo, when 
every preparatory measure had been 
taken on the supposition of the failure 
of the attack upon Belgium. Paris had 
had twenty-five days to prepare itself 
for defence, and the mass of the 
Russian and Austrian Armies oould not 
take the field before a later period. 
Neither arms, nor ammunition, nor 
officers were wanting in the capital ; 
the number of sharpshooters might be 
easily augmented to 80,000, and the 
field artillery could be increased to 
600 pieces. 

Throughout the pages which deal 
with the Hundred Days Las Cases 
strongly supports the Napoleonic view 
of affairs. To him; the Emperor said : 
" But in the situation in which I was 
placed, the circumstance which served 
to fill up the measure of my distress 
was that I beheld the decisive hour 
gradually approach. The star paled ; 
I felt the reins slip from my hands, 
and yet I oould do nothing. Only a 
sudden turn of fortune could save us : 
to treat, to conclude any compact, 
would have been to yield like a fool 
to the enemy. I was convinced of 
this, and the event sufficiently proved 
that I was not mistaken. We had, 
therefore, no alternative but to 
fight; and every day, by some fatality 
or other, our chances diminished. 
Treason began to penetrate into our 
ranks. Great numbers of our troops 
sank under the effects of fatigue and 
discouragement. My lieutenants be- 
came dispirited, and consequently un- 
fortunate. They were no longer the 
same men who figured at the 00m- 
mencement of the Revolution, or who 
had distinguished themselves in the 



LATOUR 

brilliant moments of my success. I 
have been informed that some pre- 
sume to allege, in their defence, that 
at first they fought for the Republic 
and for their country, while afterwards 
they fought only for a single man, 
for his individual interests and his 
ambition." 

It is impossible in this place to fol- 
low these Memoirs farther, as the his- 
tory with which they deal is the history 
of France during nearly twenty years. 
The care with which they have been 
prepared is manifest, and, indeed, is 
witnessed to by the great vogue they 
have enjoyed since their original pub- 
lication. 

Latouche-Tr^ville, Louis R6ne 
Madeleine Le Vassor de (1745- 
1804). — French admiral; was born at 
Rochefort, and served in the American 
War. Later he was a deputy to the 
United States, and was subsequently 
dispatched by the Directory with a 
squadron against Naples. He was in 
command at Boulogne when Nelson 
made his unsuccessful attack with 
gunboats in 1801, and three years later 
was appointed to the Mediterranean 
squadron. About this time a letter, in 
which the French admiral bragged of 
having made Nelson "run," fell into 
the hands of the latter, who vowed that 
he would make the writer eat it if they 
ever met ! Latouche-Tr^ville died at 
Toulon, owing, according to popular 
report, to his constant exertions in 
walking to the summit of a hill whence 
he could see the British fleet. 

Latour d'Auvergne, Theophiie 

Male Corret de (1743-1800) 

Named by N, "the first grenadier of 
France " ; was born at Carhaix, in Brit- 
tany, on 23 Dec. 1743, the son of an 
advocate named Corret. From the 
first he desired a militarj' career, and 
in 1767, by means of a certificate of 
nobility signed by his friends, he was 
nominally enlisted in the Maison du 
Roi, afterwards being commissioned in 
a line regiment under the name of Cor- 
ret de Kerbaufret. He was descended 
from an illegitimate half-brother of 
Turenne, and in 1771 he assumed the 
surname of Latour d'Auvergne by 
permission of the Due de Bouillon. In' 
1 781 he volunteered for serv^ice in the 
Due de Crillon's Franoo-Spanish ex- 



253 



LATOUR 

pedition to Minorca, and for his signal 
bravery in action was made an oifer 
of promotion into the Army of Spain, 
but this he refused, as it necessitated 
changing- his allegiance. In 1784 he 
was created captain, and in 1791 re- 
ceived the Cross of St. Louis. At the 
outbreak of the Revolution he was 
attached to the Augonnois regiment, 
and refused to^ emigrate, as did many 
of his brother officers, rather than 
swear to the Constitution, Latour 
remaining in France from patriotic 
motives. Apart from military affairs, 
he took a great interest in coins and 
medals, also in the question of lan- 
guages, and in 1792 he published a 
work on the people of Brittany. That 
same year he served under Montes- 
quiou in the Alps (1792) and in the 
Pyrenees (1793), ag'ain with singular 
courage and bravery. He was offered 
promotion, which, however, he de- 
clined. His health now broke down 
owing to his having to live on nothing 
but milk, a dietary necessitated by the 
loss of his teeth. In consideration of 
this he left the army in 1795, and 
returned to Brittany by sea, during 
which voyage he was captured by the 
English and kept prisoner for two 
years. Regaining his freedom, he 
settled at Passy, and published his 
work Origines Gauloises. His quixotic 
character is well indicated in the next 
incident. An old friend was in great 
grief because his only son had been 
taken as a conscript. He made an 
appeal to Latour d'Auvergne, who 
thereupon rejoined the army as a sub- 
stitute for the son of Ms friend. In 
1797 he served on the Rhine, and in 
1797-99 in Switzerland with the rank 
of captain. His record of unexampled 
courage and his rare modesty now 
came before the notice of N., who, 
by a decree of 27 April 1800, named 
Latour d'Auvergne "the premier 
grenadier of France'." In his grati- 
tude at such a mark of esteem and 
honour Latour again volunteered, and 
met his death on the battlefield at 
Oberhausen on_27 June 1800. 

The almost fabulous valour and the 
personality of this " son of Brittany " 
had obtained a marvellous hold over 
the affections of the French soldiery. 
When French troops and their allies 



LAURISTON 

of the Rhine confederation passed his 
grave on the battlefield they never 
failed to march past at attention. 
His heart had been embalmed, and for 
many years remained in the possession, 
of the grenadier company of his regi- 
ment, the 46th. By strange chances 
it passed into the keeping of Garibaldi, 
but in 1883 was given to the city of 
Paris. To this very day his memory 
is kept alive, and the same tribute 
rendered toi his memory as it was in 
1800 by the order of N. "The name 
of Latour d'Auvergne is to remain on' 
the pay list and roll of his company. 
It will be called at all parades, and 
a non-commissioned officer will reply : 
' Mort au champ d'honneur.' " When- 
ever the colours are taken on parade 
the 46th regiment still pay this honour 
to the name of "the first grenadier of 
France." 

Lauriston, Jacques Alexandre 
Bernard Law, Marquis de (1768- 
1828). — Soldier and diplomat; the son 
of a French general ; born at Pondi- 
cherry. He entered the artillery in 
1786, and served on the staff in the 
Revolutionary campaigns, reaching the 
rank of brigadier of artillery in 1795. 
The next year he resigned his com- 
mission, but re-entered the service in 
1800 as an aide-de-camp to N., whose 
personal friend he had been in early 
life. Shortly after this he became 
director of the artillery school at La 
F^re, and from that post was sent 
as envoy to Denmark. He also con- 
veyed to England the ratification of 
the Peace of Amiens in 1802. In 1805 
he was promoted general of division, 
and took part in the Austrian War. 
In 1807 he became governor-general 
of France, and took part in the ne- 
gotiations at Erfurt in 1808, and be- 
came a count. He accompanied the 
Emperor to Spain in 1808-9, and held 
commands under the viceroy, Eugene 
Beauharnais, in the Italian campaign 
and the invasion of Austria in the same 
year. He was in charge of the artillery 
at Wagram, and arranged the "pre- 
paration by artillery " which had such 
decisive effect in that struggle. In 
181 1 he was sent to Russia as am- 
bassador, held a command in the army 
which invaded Russia in 181 2, and did 
good service in covering the retreat 



254 



LAVALETTE 

from Moscow. He commanded the 
5th army corps in the campaign 
of Liitzen and Bautzen, and in 
the autumn campaign the 5th and 
iitb corps. Being taken prisoner 
by the enemy in the retreat from 
Leipsic, he remained a captive until 
the fall of the Emperor. He joined 
Louis XVHI., to whom he remaiined 
faithful during the Hundred Days. 
For this he was rewarded with a seat 
in the house of peers and a command 
in the royal guard. In 181 7 he was 
created a marquis, and in 1823 marshal 
of France. During the Spanish War 
he besieged and took the town of 
Pampluna. He died at Paris on 
12 June 1828. 

Lavalette, Antoi ne Marie 
Chamans, Comte de (1769-1830).— 
Was born in Paris in 1769, the same 
year as his friend N. His father was 
a tradesman, who, however, gave his 
son an excellent education at the Har- 
court College. Being of a studious 
turn of mlind, Lavalette acquiesced in 
his parents' desire that he should de- 
vote himself to the Church, and, taking 
holy orders, became under-librarian at 
Ste. Genevieve. The outbreak of the 
Revolution, however, unsettled his 
arrangements and aroused his in- 
terest and ambitions. He entered the 
National Militia, which Lafayette 
organized for the defence of king 
and country. Though royalist in sym- 
pathies, he was gradually alienated by 
the obstinacy of Louis XVL and his 
brother the Comte de Provence (later 
Louis XVHL) in the affair Favras, 
which aroused his indignation. In 
1792 he signed the royalist petition of 
the ten thousand, but after 10 Aug. 
he enlisted in the) Legion of the Alps 
and so joined the Army of the Rhine, 
and served with great distinction 
throughout the campaign, being at 
first adjutant of engineers and after- 
wards aide-de-camp to General Bara- 
guay d'Hilliers. After the Vend^an 
War Lavalette, like his general, 
d'Hilliers, joined the Army of Italy, 
attracted thereto by the fame of Bona- 
parte. It was Lavalette's bravery that 
first brought him to the notice of N,, 
and 00 the field of Areola he received 
the title of aide-de-camp and the ranlj 
of captain. He was entrusted with 



LAVALETTE 

the dangerous Tyrol mission, and was 
wounded, and again publicly compli- 
mented by Bonaparte, who was not 
long in discovering the many excellent 
qualities which Lavalette possessed 
besides courage : " solid informa- 
tion, a scrutinizing mind, wonderful 
sagacity, prudence, and perfect good 
breeding." The confidence his new 
chief reposed in him is shown by the 
fact that it was Lavalette whom he 
chose to send to Paris to' observe and 
report upon the political movements 
and developments in the capital. 
Though young, inexperienced and un- 
known, he justified Bonaparte's trust 
by the remarkable prudence which he 
displayed amid the dangers and in- 
trigues of political life. By frequent- 
ing all the social circles and cliques and 
connecting himself with none he was 
able to discover^ the real aims of 
eachi, despite the different disguises 
they all adopted. Disapproving of the 
behaviour and acts of Barras, Lava- 
lette took the step of refusing to him 
the monies Bonaparte had promised 
Barras out of the funds of the Army 
of Italy, a step which N. fully ap- 
proved when he knew of the reasons. 
For Lavalette, however, the immediate 
effects w^ere to rouse the fury of the 
Directory against himself and the 
"brutal anger of Augereau." Thus 
threatened, Lavalette proceeded to 
rejoin his chief, which he did at the 
castle of Passeriano. A few days 
afterwards he was deputed to humble 
and chastise Genoa, which had in- 
sulted the French, a mission which 
he carried out most thoroughly. After 
the Peace of Campo Formio he accom- 
panied Bonaparte through Swiitzerland, 
but was left at Rastadt by the latter, 
entrusted with secret powers, to watch 
the negotiations between the Director)' 
and the German representatives. In a 
few months he was recalled by Bona- 
parte, who there and then married 
Lavalette to Emilie de Beauharnais, 
a niece of Josephine. The marriagfe 
proved most happy, and a description 
of the hurried wooing is to be found in 
the Memoirs of Lavalette. Very soon 
after his wedding he was called upon 
to accompany Bonaparte on the Egyp- 
tian campaign as his aide-de-camp. He 
was his close companion throughout 



255 



LAVALETTE 

the whole period, and has left on record 
intensely interesting' accounts of both 
general, officers, and incidents. On 
Bonaparte's return to France, Lava- 
lette accompanied him, and proved use- 
ful in the coup d'etat of i8 Brumaire 
(Nov. 1799). Soon afterwards he was 
sent to Dresden with full powers to 
treat with Austria, but peace being 
concluded by Moreau, the chief ne- 
gfotiator, he returned to Paris. Bona- 
parte, now First Consul, knowing well 
the sterling qualities of Lavalette, dis- 
tinguished him among the first of his 
followers by making him commissioner- 
general of the post office. On the 
proclamation of the Empire he was 
styled postmaster-general, and a little 
later count, councillor of state, and 
grand officer of the Legion of Honour. 
Lavalette carried out his duties, ardous 
and delicate as they were, in an ex- 
emplary manner. In 1814, when the 
Emperor was at Elba, Lavalette re- 
tired into private life, but on N.'s 
return he was at once recalled and 
offered the ministry of the home de- 
partment. He, however, preferred to 
resume the postmaster-generalship, in 
which capacity he showed much 
clemency to suspected persons in the 
department. During the Hundred 
Days he was much with the Emperor, 
both in his councils and private life. 
After Waterloo Lavalette, trusting in 
the terms of the treaty, remained in 
Paris, but the vindictiveness of Louis 
XVHL, and especially his niece, the 
Duchesse d'Angouleme, demanded a 
victim from the civil ministers of N. 
as well as from his officers, as Mar- 
shal Ney. Lavalette was the chosen 
one. He was arrested, and after a 
tedious trial was sentenced to death 
as an accomplice in the conspiracy 
which had brought about N.'-s feturn 
from Elba. Despite the efforts of 
influential people, no mercy could be 
obtained, Mme. Lavalette being 
slighted when she would have pleaded 
with Louis and the Duchesse d'An- 
gouleme. At last Mme. Lavalette, 
seeing such means were hopeless, 
concocted plans for the escape of her 
husband, and, with the help of M. 
Bandus, the plan was successful. 
Lavalette was concealed in the rooms 
of M. Bresson in the hotel of the 



LAVALETTE 

minister for foreign affairs, and was 
thus saved from the rigorous search 
of Paris by the authorities. He stayed 
there for many days, and at last three 
Englishmen, admirers of Lavalette, 
undertook to convey him safely out of 
France. The foremost of these three 
was General Sir Robert Wilson ; the 
others were Mr. Michael Bruce and 
Mr. Hutchinson. In the uniform of a 
British officer and under the name 
of Col. Losack, with Wilson for 
a travelling companion, Lavalette 
reached Belgium, and finally Bavaria, 
the King of that country refusing to 
accede to the demands of the French 
Government to deliver Lavalette into 
their hands. They, however, suc- 
ceeded in imprisoning for three months 
Sir Robert Wilson and Mr. Hutchin- 
son for their humane behiaviour. An 
unpleasant feature is the fact that the 
Prince Regent acquiesced in this treat- 
ment of these Englishmen. Las Cases 
records with what great joy N. re- 
ceived the news of Lavalette's escape. 

In 1822 Louis XVIII. granted letters 
of pardon to Lavalette, but his return 
to France was saddened by the condi- 
tion of his wife, who did not recogTiize 
him, she having lost her reason after 
the strain of those terrible hours of 
anxiety spent in planning his escape 
and the treatment she had received 
when the authorities discovered her in 
prison in the place of her husband. 
Henceforth her husband devoted his 
life to her, and was repaid, for she at 
length regained her reason. In 1826 
Lavalette was in London supporting 
Sir Robert Wilson, his heroic rescuer, 
in his parliamentary candidature in 
the borough of Southwark. He died 
in 1830, surrounded by family and 
friends, and kept unsullied to the last 
a spotless reputation and a character 
of peculiar uprightness and loyalty. 

Memoirs. — The first eight chapiters 
of these Memoirs are occupied with 
the author's personal reminiscences of 
the Revolution. With the ninth chap- 
ter we enter upon that part of the work 
which deals with N. Lavalette's in- 
troduction to him is dramatic. Barras, 
he says, having been a commissioner 
of the Convention with the southern 
army in 1783, had remarked a young 
officer of artillery whose courage and 



256 



LAVALETTE 

advice had great influence on the 
retaking- of Toulon. This artillery 
officer laug-hed both at scruples and 
resolutions of most of the statesmen 
and politicians of his day, and demon- 
strated to his companions that the 
Parisians were nothing- but fools led 
on by cunning rog-ues. " His firm- 
ness, his eloquence, his consciousness 
of great superiority, which his counte- 
nance does betray, inspired confidence 
and carried persuasiion into the minds 
of everyone. This young- man's name 
was Bonaparte." After describing the 
events of 13 Vend^miaire, Lavalette 
proceeds to deal with the days of the 
Directory, the marriage of General 
Bonaparte with Josephine Beauhar- 
nais, his departure for Italy, the 
pacification of La Vendee, and his 
own dispatch to the Italian peninsula, 
where, on Ms arrival at Milan, he was 
appointed aide-de-camp to the g-eneral- 
in-chief. Confining ourselves to such 
parts of the work as deal with the 
character and exploits of N., we find 
these Memoirs valuable for their in- 
timate account of the Italian, Egyp- 
tian and Russian campaigns. But here 
and there they touch on more private 
affairs. There is a gfood chapter on 
the divorce of Josephine, and towards 
the end the autobiog-raphy is almost 
purely personal, describing* as it does 
the imprisonment and adventures of 
Lavalette himself. 

In that portion of the book which 
deals with the Italian campaign the 
personality of the various commanders 
is treated in a series of paragraph 
pen-pictures, which gfreatly assist us 
in our comprehension of the several 
paladins who wielded their swords 
under Bonaparte in the north of Italy. 
Nor is political matter wanting, if it 
is tersely described, for here and there 
the g-reat questions of the day are 
touched upon, and the political inter- 
national affairs which made the cam- 
paign essential are clearly and briefly 
stated. 

The short paragraphs which deal 
with personalities are illuminating if 
outspoken. For example, the author, 
dealing- with Marmont, says : " Mar- 
mont, a colonel of artillery, was also 
born in Burg-undy, of an ancient and 
respectable family in that province. 



LAVALETTE 

His education had been particularly 
well attended to, and he had entered 
very_ young into the army. The prin- 
cipal features of his character were at 
that time an unbounded passion for 
glory and ambition, and an attachment 
to his general that amounted to en- 
thusiasm." 

A mission to Tyrol followed, 
which was not without its dangers. 
It ended in a small action in which 
the French lost twenty-five men killed 
and wounded and three officers. But 
Lavalette 's report of the affair was 
well received, although N, blamed 
him for having penetrated so far into 
the country without sufficient support. 
The truce between the Austrians and 
French is described, and the cession 
of Venice to Austria. The Directory 
and its membership are cleverly pic- 
tured, and the political machinatioiis 
which proceeded from the domicile of 
Barras, to whose salon Lavalette was 
a constant visitor. The motives which 
impelled the expedition to Egypt are 
outlined. The condition of Egypt, the 
commanders and personalities who 
took part in the Egyptian campaign, 
and the engagements which composed 
it, occupy from the sixteenth to the 
twenty-first chapters inclusive. N.'s 
welcome at Paris, the conspiracy to 
overthrow the Directory, the con- 
stitution of the Third Year, and the 
tri-consulate are sketched. The con- 
spiracy of Georges and Pichegru, and 
the assassination of the Due d'Enghien 
are touched upon. 

The passage which relates to the 
murder of the Due d'Eng-hien is in- 
teresting- because of the almost novel 
theory advanced by the author for its 
reason. After stating- that the visits 
of the due to the left bank of the 
Rhine had g-iven cause for uneasiness 
in Paris duriing- the season of the 
Pichegru conspiracies, Lavalette g-oes 
on to say : "Another motive, perhaps 
the most peremptory, must be sought 
for in Bonaparte's character — impetu- 
osity and love of revenge, which might 
be called vendetta Corsica. That feel- 
ing was, besides, at the period I am 
describing-, raised to the highest deg-ree 
by his enemies. I heard him say a 
few days afterwards : ' Let them throw 
all Europe on my shoulders ; my part 



257 



LAVAUETTE 

will then be to defend myself; their 
attack is a legal one. But to blow up 
whole streets, to kill or maim more 
than one hundred persons in the hope 
of coming at me ; to send, as they 
now have done, forty bravoes toi mur- 
der me — ^that is too much. I will make 
them shed tears of blood. They shall 
learn at their expense what it is to 
make murder legal.' " 

The return of N. from Russia is a 
topic which is not dealt with by many 
of his memoirists and historians, and 
it is interesting to find a pretty full 
report of it in Lavalette's book. On 
arriving in Paris, whither he had 
posted in haste, N. found the public 
mind in considerable agitation. "He 
admitted everybody ; showed severity 
towards soime — intrepidity in presence 
of all. He explained the cause of the 
misfortune of the campaign, and with- 
out seeking toi dissemble the fault that 
had been committed, he boldly claimed 
the support he wanted to begin the 
war anew, repel the enemy, and 
conclude a peace, of which he, more 
than anyone, felt the absolute neces- 
sity. His noble courage in wrestling 
with misfortune electrified the whole 
country. Three hundred thousand men 
were granted; the young came for- 
ward with courage, the old with firm- 
ness. Within a few months an army 
was raised, admirably brave, though 
still uninstructed, and the fields of 
Liitzen and Bautzen witnessed fresh 
triumphs. The disasters of the cam- 
paign of Moscow had brought Russia 
and Austria to an understanding, and 
alarmed the powers of the second class. 
Peace was, however, proposed to the 
Emperor, but they had no longer to 
treat wlith the sovereigni of the world. 
He began to feel that, after having 
been conquered by the elements, he 
would be so by man." The conclusion 
of the campaign which ended in the 
deliverance of Prussia and the German 
States from N.'s rule is also well told, 
not without a touch of self-pride on 
the part of the author. " I think," he 
writes, " I have already said in these 
Memoirs that whxfnever he was un- 
fortunate he turned to me. I must 
not be proud of that circumstance. 
My attachment to his person was a 
duty. . . . The principal subject of 



LAVALETTE 

our conversation was the situation of 
France. I used to tell him, with a 
degree of frankness, the truth of 
which could alone make him pardon 
its rudeness, that France was fatigued 
to an excess; that it was quite impos- 
sible for her to bear much longer the 
burthen with which she was loaded, 
and that she would undoubtedly throw 
off the yoke and, according to custom, 
seek an alleviation to her sufferings 
in novelty, her favourite divinity. I 
said in particular a great deal of the 
Bourbons, who, I observed, would 
finally inherit his royal spoil if ever 
fortune laid him low. The mention 
of the Bourbons made him thoughtful, 
and he threw himself on his bed with- 
out uttering ai word ; but after a few 
minutes, having approached to know 
whether I might retire, I saw that he 
had fallen into a profound sleep." 

Lavalette's account of the campaign 
of 1 814 and the abdication of N. differs 
very little from those of other writers. 
The departure of the Emperor from 
Elba, the residence of Josephine at 
Malmaison, the discontent of the army, 
are all graphically drawn, but unfor- 
tunately space forbids the extension of 
any of these topics. A visit of the 
Emperor Alexander to Josephine is a 
point of real interest. The Emperor 
was charmed with her, and consi- 
dered that she greatly resembled the 
Empress Catherine. Prince Eugene 
chanced to be in Paris, and with him 
Alexander was so prepossessed that 
he promised to give him a German 
principality, the population of which 
should not be less than 60,000 inhabi- 
tants. Alexander, in a moment of 
effusion, said to Eugene : " I do not 
know whether I shall not one day 
repent having placed the Bourbons on 
the throne. Believe me, my dear 
Eugene, they are not good people. 
We have seen them in Russia, and I 
know from experience what to think 
of them." 

.The death of Josephine is described. 
We are told how the Emperor Alex- 
ander brought her his own physician, 
and remained a whole day with her, 
and how she expired in the arms of 
one of her ladies of honour. This part 
of the Memoirs, in short, is rich in 
personal matter concerning what might 



258 



LEBRUN 

be called the post-Napoleonic days of 
Josephine and her family. The errors 
of the gfovernment, the discontent of 
the army, the conspiracy of Excelmans 
in which several marshals were im- 
plicated, the news of N.'s landing- axid 
the sensations produced by it, are de- 
scribed with a graphic pen, as is the 
aspect of the Tuileries on the arrival 
of the Emperor. Lavalette then pro- 
ceeds to relate how he resumed his 
old service at the post office, and the 
great drama of the Hundred Days is 
unrolled in a few words. The return 
of N. to the Elys^e after Waterloo is 
described in poig^nant words: "The 
next morning the Emperor arrived. 
I flew to the Elys^e to see him. He 
ordered me into his closet, and as 
soon as he saw me he came to meet 
me with a frightful epileptic laugh. 
' Oh, mon Dieu ! ' he said, raising his 
eyes to heaven and walking' two or 
three times up and down the room. 
This appearance of despair was, how- 
ever, very short : he soon recovered 
his coolness, and asked me what was 
going forward at the Chamber of 
Representatives." Lavalette's last 
conversations with his master are then 
described, as is the Emperor's depar- 
ture and the arrest of the author. 

The remainder of the Memoirs are 
entirely personal, but are perhaps the 
most fascinating part of the book, be- 
cause of the circumstance of adventure 
which surrounds them. The work as 
a whole is among the most interesting 
and intimate of the memoirs of N., 
but the incidents are bdiefly described, 
and it can hardly be said that Lavalette 
wrote them with the pen of a states- 
man. They are, indeed, moire of a 
summary of the times than anything 
else, and it is only when we come into 
contact with the master whom Lava- 
lette adored that we find the author 
at all willing to be discursive, and 
even then he is sometimes disappoint- 
ing-ly brief, especially at such moments 
as we would expect from him a gener- 
ous wealth of detail. 

Lebrun, Charles Fran90is, 
Duke of Piacenza (1739 - 1824).— 
French statesman and financier. A 
native of St. Sauveur Lendelin(Manche), 
Lebrun was born on 19 March 1739. 
His father, thoug-h of limited means, 



LEBRUN 

gave him a very good education, and 
he visited several foreigfn countries 
with the view of perfecting- himself 
in natural and civil law, in which 
branch of learning he was especially 
interested. Returning to France, he 
settled in Paris to follow the pro- 
fession of a lawyer, later becoming 
confidential secretary and adviser to 
Maupeou, whose downfall in 1774 he 
shared. Lebrun then retired into the 
country, and devoted himself to 
literature and the upbring^ing- of his 
family. In 1789 he reappeared in 
public life as the author of the Voix 
dU' Citoyen, a fair and unbiased work 
which predicted the course of the 
Revolution and suggested a liberal 
constitution as the only remedy. He 
was later elected deputy for Dourdain 
in the Constituent Assembly, in which 
he opposed the issue of paper money 
and the creation of lotteries, and 
brought forward several financial 
laws. In 1792 he successfully quelled 
riots which occurred in his depart- 
ment, but later he suffered imprison- 
ment and narrowly escaped execution. 

In 1799 Lebrun was noiminated 
Third Consul by N. — partly, perhaps, 
because he was believed to be at heart 
a royalist, and N. may have hoped 
tlnat his example would influence the 
undecided. He took a largfe share in 
the financial administration of France 
and proved most useful to the First 
Consul in his money transactions, 
thus establishing his reputation as 
one of the greatest financiers of his 
time. He also assisted in the draw- 
ing up of the Code Napoleon. Lebrun 
was one of the four pages who sup- 
ported N.'s train at the Coronation, 
and in the same year (1804) received 
the appointment of arch-treasurer of 
the empire. For a year he acted as 
governor-general of Genoa in an able 
and moderate manner, but on his 
return to Paris, after remonstrating- 
with N. on the proposed abolition of 
the Tribunal, he resigned hiis arch- 
treasurership and retired into private 
life. 

Lebrun strongly opposed N.'s re- 
establishment of the noblesse, and 
was very unwilling to accept the title 
of Duke of Piacenza, which was 
conferred on him in 1800. He was 



259 



LEBRUN 

entrusted with the organization of the 
departments in Holland, of which he 
acted as governor-general from 1811 
to 1814, finding favour in the eyes of 
the Dutch, who named him "the good 
Stadtholder." 

He concurred in the restoration of 
the Bourbons and received a seat in 
the house of peers from Louis XVUL, 
but he returned to his allegiance to 
N. during the Hundred Days, and 
was appointed Grand Master of the 
University. At the second Restora- 
tion he was at first excluded from 
the house of peers, but was reinstated 
in 1819. Having now reached his 
eightieth year, he retired to his 
estate at St. Mesmes, where he died 
on 16 June 1824. 

It is said that Lebrun was of a 
phlegmatic and parsimonious, though 
honest, nature, and was more of an 
administrator than a leader; but he 
possessed literary ability and, above 
all, a great talent for finance. The 
last-named gift had probably much to 
do with his appointment as Third 
Consul, and there is no doubt that N. 
also valued his intellectual and admini- 
strative qualities, as hlis appdintment 
(which was practically a command) to 
the governorship of Holland at the 
advanced age of seventy-one plainly 
shows. 

Lebrun 's literary work, previous to 
the Revolution, includes translations 
of Tasso's Gerusalemme Liherata 
(1774) and Homer's Iliad {1776), 

Lebrun, Charles. — Son of the 
Duke of Piacenza and aide-de-camp 
to the Emperor, a deputy, and under 
the Second Empire a senator and 
grand chancellor of the Legion of 
Honour. He died in 1859. 

Ueclerc, Victor-Emmanuel 
(1766-1802), General,— Was the son 
of a rich mill-owner at Pontoise, and 
became the first husband of Pauline 
Bonaparte (q.v.). A sister of Lederc 
marr'ied Marshal Davout at N.'s wish, 
and a brother became a prefect under 
the empire. All three had been given 
an excellent education by their father, 
from which they profited. Leclerc 
entered the service as a volunteer, and 
Sn 1 79 1 was appointed a lieutenant 
in the 2nd battalion of Seine-et-Oise. 
He became aide-de-camp to General 



LEFEBVRE 

Lapoype in 1792, and finally joined 
the Army of Italy as adjutant-general. 
He married Pauline Bonaparte in 1797 
at Montebello, and had a son, Dermide 
(so named by his godfather N. in his 
admiration of Ossian), who died in 
childhood. In the winter of i8oo 
Leclero was given command of the 
French Army of 15,000 men operating 
in defence of Spaiin against Portugal, 
but in his rdle of commander-in-chieJF 
he displayed no genius sufficient to 
justify the preference shown himi. By 
his aping of the manners, habits and 
even dress of his famous brother-in- 
law he earned the ridicule of his troops 
and the nickname "The blond Bona- 
parte." Finally, by an act which 
cannot but be stigmatized a crime, 
he became an object of hatred to his 
men. The incident is to be found 
described 5n General Thi^bault's 
Mdmoives. Two soldiers belonging 
to Thi6bault's brigade were arraigned 
on a false charge, and their general 
acquitted them, though Leclerc had 
proposed to make an example of 
them. Angry at their acquittal, 
he caused another soldier of Thie- 
bault's brigade, innocent of crime, to 
be arrested and shot on the spot. 

In 1 80 1 N. organized an expedition 
to reconquer the island of San Domin- 
go, the slaves of which had risen in 
1792 and, being successful, had been 
masters ever since. Admiral Vil- 
laret-Joyeuse was in command of the 
fleet, and Leclerc was appointed com- 
mander-^in-chief of the whole expedi- 
tion. It was a difficult task with which 
he was faced, and through his inde- 
cision of character and ignorance of 
colonial affairs, Leclerc made many 
blunders, though showing courage in 
some desperate circumstances. Under 
the combined effects of worry and 
climate Leclerc collapsed and died of 
cholera on i Nov. 1802. 

Lefebvre, Pierre Francois 
Joseph, Duke of Danzig (1755-1820). 
— French marshal ; was born at Rouf- 
fach in Alsace. When the Revolution 
broke out he was a sergeant in the 
Gardes Fran9aises, and, like most of 
his fellows, took the side of the people. 
Soon afterwards he received a com- 
misslion, and, distinguishing himself 
in the revolutionary wars, was created 



260 



LEFEBVRE 

a general of division. He went 
throug"b most of the revolutionary 
campaigns from Fleurus to Stokach 
with a deep sense of discipline and 
duty, but in the last of these engage- 
ments he was soi severely wounded 
that he had to return to France, where 
he gave assistance to N. during the 
coup d'6tat of i8 Brumaire. At the 
beginning- of the First Empire he was 
created a marshal, commanded the 
infantry of the guard at Jena, be- 
sieged Danzig, from which town he 
received bis ducal title, and com- 
manded a corps in N.'s campaign 
in Spain. He led the Bavarian con- 
tingent in 1809 iin the engagements 
of Abensberg and Eckmuhl. He 
commanded the Imperial Guard in 
the Russian campaign of 181 2, fought 
through the last campaign in France 
and distinguished himself in many of 
its engag-ements. On the Bourbon 
restoration he was made a peer of 
France, but rejoined N. during the 
Hundred Days. As the result of this 
action he was not permitted to resume 
his seat in the house of peers until 
1 819. He was a man of g-reat sim- 
plicity, and if he did not possess; much 
genius he had a wide and deep ex- 
per*ience which stood him in good 
stead during- his military career. The 
exercise of supreme command he was 
incapable of, and was hardly fitted to 
lead a detachment, but as a subordi- 
nate he was trustworthy, brave, and 
intensely loyal. His speech and 
manner were plain and even rustic 
in character ; and he did not raise 
himself by marriage, as he married 
a laundress. He died at Paris on 
14 Sept. 1820. 

Lefebvre-Desno^ttes, Charles, 
Comte (1773-1822).— French cavalry 
general. He joined the army in 1792 
and served in various revolutionary 
campaigns, among them that of the 
Rhine. In 1798 he w^as appointed 
aide-de-camp to N,, with the rank of 
captain. At Marengo and Austerlitz 
he received further promotion, and 
after the latter battle was made a 
colonel. He served in the Prussian 
campaigns of 1806-7, and in 1808 was 
made general of brigade and a count 
of the empire. He accompanied the 
army into Spain, and commanded a 



LEGION 

detachment which unsuccessfully in- 
vested Saragossa. He was more for- 
tunate in the Battle of Tudela, but 
was taken prisoner at Benavente by 
the British cavalry. Transported to 
England, he remained a prisoner there 
for more than two years, living on 
parole at Cheltenham. He managed 
to escape in 181 1, and joined the 
grande armee in the Russian invasion 
of 181 2 as cavalry leader. During the 
Hundred Days he rejoined N., and 
was wounded at Waterloo. The re- 
stored Bourbon regime condemned him 
to death, but he escaped to America 
and took up farming at Louisiana. 
He received permission to return to 
France from the government of 
Louis XVIII., and embarked in a 
vessel, the Albion, for that purpose, 
but it went down off the coast of Ire- 
land with all hands on 28 May 1822. 

Lesion of Honour.— Instituted by 
N. in 1802. All citizens above 
twenty-five year$ were eligfible to 
receive this military or civil order of 
merit, whatever their birth, rank, or 
religion. An oath to uphold the prin- 
ciples of liberty and equality had to 
be taken on admission, and salaries 
were attached to the order. Under 
N.'s organization a grand council of 
seven officers was elected to administer 
the legion, which was further divided 
into fifteen cohorts, including so many 
officers, commanders, and legionaries, 
and at the headquarters of these 
"cohorts" hospitals were maintained 
for the sick and infirm legionaries. 
The rank of grand eagle (now grand 
cross) was founded in 1805, and after 
a temporary eclipse was reinstated 
after the Revolution in 1830. The 
president of the Republic is now grand 
master of the order. The numbers of 
recipients of the order sans traitement 
are limited. Before a candidate can 
be eligible for the rank of chevalier 
twenty years' active service must have 
been gone through, and extraordinary 
service, whether in time of peace or 
in time of war, can be rewarded by 
admission to any rank. The old 
form of decoration was the Napo- 
leonic grand cross and ribbon, the 
inscription round the medallion being 
"Republique Fran9aise." In the 
present order a laurel wreath ve- 



'261 



LEIPSIC 

places the imperial crown, with the 
symbolical head in the centre. Women 
are eligfible for the decoration ; it is 
very rarely conferred on them, but 
since 1805 an institution has existed for 
the education of female relatives of 
members of the Legion of Honour. 

Leipsic. — The Battle of Leipsic 
was one of the most important in 
modern history, and is sometimes 
called "the Battle of the Nations." 
It raged during three days, 16, 17 
and 18 Oct. 181 3, and was composed 
of a series of desperate engagements, 
resulting in terrible scenes of carnage. 
The French troops numbered about 
190,000 at the beginning of the con- 
flict, and the Allied forces (Austrians, 
Russians, Prussians, and Swedes) 
about 200,000, but the latter were 
able to replace their losses toi the 
extent of another 100,000 men. N. 
commanded the French, andt Schwart- 
zenberg, Bliicher, and Bernadotte the 
Allies. By the night of the i6th the 
Emperor was in reality beaten, but 
he did not acknowledge it and en- 
deavoured toi extricate the remaiins of 
his army : on the 17th he proposed 
an armistice, which was naturally re- 
fused, as his enemies were well aware 
that he was in their power. The fight 
recommenced on the i8fh, and the 
French were gradually pressed back 
upon Leipsic, although struggling 
bravely. At last, at nightfall, N. 
ordered the retreat, and the whole 
of the next day the rout continued 
through Leipsic and across the only 
bridge that spanned the Elster. The 
disasters of that awful day were 
crowned by the premature blowing 
up of this bridge, which left thirty 
generals, 33,000 men, 260 cannon and 
870 ammunition wagons in the Allies' 
hands. Among the hundreds who 
threw themselves into the flooded 
streami and were drowned was Prince 
Poniatowski. The total losses were 
enormous, not only amongst the 
French but also amongst the Allies. 
For plan and fuller account of the 
battle, see pp. 267-269. 

Leoben, Peace of.— At the con- 
clusion of the first Italian campaign 
the preliminary terms of peace between 
France and Austria were signed by 
Bonaparte at Leoben on 18 April 1797. 



LEOPOLD 

These terms were ratified later at 
Campo Formio {q.v.). 

L^on, Comte (1806-1881).— Son of 

N, and Eleonore Revel; was born 
at Paris on 13 Dec. i8o6. At one 
time it is evident N. thought of 
adopting the boy. The suggestion, 
beyond doubt, was made by Caro- 
line Murat, and the child was 
first under the care of Mme. Loir, 
nurse of Achille Murat, but later, in 
1812, N. convened a family council 
and, miaking ample provision for 
L^on, appointed two guardians, M. 
Mathieu de Mauvi^res and Baron de 
M6neval, his own private secretary. 
In 18 1 4 N. again made further 
arrangements, while in the codicil to 
his will, made at St. Helena, he 
leaves L^on 320,000 francs that he 
may purchase an estate. 

In 1 81 5 the Emperor, striving to 
make provision for those dependent 
on him, confided the child to Mme. 
M6re and Cardinal Fesch. Physically 
Leon was remarkably like N. ; men- 
tally and in character he was mark- 
edly dissimilar. When he was 
twenty-five his reputation as a gam- 
bler was notorious, and he meddled 
in speculations and politics. 

In 1848 he entertained an idea of 
offering himself for the presidency of 
the Republic in opposition to Louis 
Napoleon, and took part in the legis- 
lative elections^of 1849. However, he 
was not elected. 

Several times his debts were paid 
out of the civil list, and a small 
pension was granted him by Napo^ 
leon III., which, however, expired 
with the Second Empire. He died at 
Pontoise on 15 April 1881, and is said 
to have been buried in a pauper's 
grave. 

Leopold L (1790-18651, King of 
the Belgians.— Fourth son of Frances, 
Duke of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld, 
uncle of Queen Victoria; was bom 
at Coburg. He entered the Russian 
Army at the age of eighteen and 
served with Alexander at Erfurt, but 
subsequently spent some years w!ith 
N. He became a general in the Rus- 
sian Army and served in the campaign 
of 18 1 3. At the Congress of Vienna 
he represented his house and took 
his place among the other sovereigns 



262 



LIBERATION 

met togfether there. He returned to 
Eng"land with the Allied king^s, and 
married Charlotte, only child of 
Georgfe IV., heiress to the British 
throne (1816). This alliance only 
lasted a year, but on the Princess's 
death he remained in England as the 
Duke of Kendal, to which title he had 
claim through his naturalization on his 
union with the Princess. He refused 
the throne of Greece in 1830, and 
became King of the Belgians the 
following year. In this act he had 
the approval and support of the other 
powers of Europe, with the exception 
of the Dutch king, William I., who 
rendered the first eight years of Leo- 
pold's reign difficult. From 1839 to 
1865 Belgium's progress was marked 
by the King's wise administration, and 
he won for himself from contemporary 
powers the name of the " Nestor of 
Europe." 

Liberation, War of (1813), Lut- 
zen, Bautzen, Dresden, and Leipsic 
Campaigns.* — The disaster which the 
French armies met with in Russia 
heartened the Prussian people to make 
a resistance themselves against the 
usurpers in their land. Stragglers 
passing through Germany brought 
news of the enormous losses which 
the grande armee had sustained, but 
the authorities were aware that the 
resources of France were almost 
boundless, and they dreaded the ever- 
active genius of N., which they greatly 
feared would be well able to counter- 
act any movement towards freedomi 
which they might strive to make. 
North Germany was, of course, riddled 
with secret societies, the aim and 
object of which was the liberation of 
Teutonic soil. But new French armies 
were rapidly forming on the Rhine, 
and if the situation was not without 
its brighter side it could not be called 
very hopeful. 

Pressure was, however, brought to 
bear upon the civil powers by the 
military party, who clamoured for 
war. By degrees the French gar- 
risons throughout Germany found 
themselves surrounded or were forced 
to quit the country. Assassinations 
were numerous. Peasants firing from 

* The map given at p. 268 will be found 
useful in connexion with this article. 



LIBERATION 

behind trees and hedges cut off such 
French stragglers as they chanced to 
meet with, and at last the situation 
became such that N. was forced to 
reorganize a fresh army for the recon- 
quest of Prussia. This he was well 
able to do, as the army he had thrown 
into Russia was composed for the most 
part of the troops of his Allies, and 
he had carefully conserved the native 
legions of France. The creation of 
a new national guard also greatly 
assisted the object he had in view, 
for although it was enlisted for de- 
fence only, the troops which it became 
the means of training were constantly 
being drafted into the regular army. 
From the Rhine Federation also he 
drew a goodly number of men, and 
even Italy was called upon for fresh 
troops. In this way, by the end 
of March 181 3, he had upwards of 
200,000 men whom he was able tO' 
move towards the Elbe. These he 
concentrated in the angle formed by 
the Saale and Elbe, so that on the 
one hand he menaced Dresden and on 
the other Berlin. 

On the part of the Allies, patriotism 
seems to have mingled with not a 
little confusion and disorganization, 
but they had collected troops almost 
to the number of those which N. had 
gathered, and had managed to place 
a corps of observation along the Elbe 
which would give timely notice of 
any advance towards the capital of 
Prussia. The majority of thie Ger- 
man forces were massed around 
Dresden — ^their object being to pro- 
ceed by the course of the Elbe and 
take the French flank in the right. 
But the two armies were practically 
groping for one another, as scout- 
ing and reconnaissance on both sides 
seem to have been of the most primi- 
tive description. This was caused for 
the moist part by the lack on both sides 
of a sufficiency of cavalry. 

Lutzen Campaign. — N. assumed the 
chief command of the army at Erfurt 
on 25 April. The dispositions of his 
forces at this date were as follows : 
Ney was stationed in front of 
Weimar, commanding the Kosen 
defile; the Guard were with N. at 
Erfurt ; Marmont was at Gotha ; 
Bertrand at Saalfeld; Oudinot at 



263 



LIBERATION 

Coburg"; while Eug'^ne, with the 
corps of Macdonald, Lauriston and 
Reg-nier, was stationed at the Lower 
Saale. In the usual Napoleonic man- 
ner a powerful advance-guard of all 
arms was thrown out, and the bulk 
of the army followed them in masses 
of manoeuvre, the objective being 
Leipsic and Merseberg-. On their 
part the Prussians, aided by the 
Russians, had hastened forward oon- 
centration and were stationed a little 
to the south of the French advance. 
On I May N. and the advance-guard 
entered Liitzen. Wittgenstein, who 
was in command of the Allies, learned 
of his proximity, and thinking the 
French advance-guard to be the entire 
army madte up his mind to attack it 
on its rigfht flank. On 2 May, about 
nine o'clock in the morning, he 
commenced an attack on the French 
advance-guard in Liitzen, whilst the 
rest of his men were thrown against 
N.'s rig-ht and rear. But just as they 
were moving off, the French main body 
made its appearance: N., taking in 
the situation at at glance and hasten- 
ing to his main body, grouped them 
for battle, leaving the advance-guard 
to fend for itself. Relying on his old 
plan of beating down the enemy's front 
by artillery practice, he sent forward 
and massed nearly 100 cannon, whose 
case-shot tore through the enemy's 
line and made an enormous gap in 
it, through which he marched his 
reserve. His lack of cavalry did not 
allow of pursuit, and the Allies made 
good thdir retreat. Perhaps none of 
his battles so well illustrates N.'s 
strategic genius. He recognized, too, 
that he was not fighting mere auto- 
mata, as the German troops had so 
often proved themselves to be in the 
past. "These Prussians havtf at last 
learned something," he said. "They 
are no longer the wooden toys of 
Frederick the Great." He also per- 
ceived that his own men were inferior 
to those whom he had led at Auster- 
litz, and in this connexion he was 
more than once forced to rally the 
conscript troops under his banner, 
and it is still maintained in the 
French Army that he even compelled 
their advance in individual cases by 
a free use of kicks and cuffs. 



LIBERATION 

His object was now to press so 
closely on the Prussians as to give 
them no rest. Ney was dispatched 
across the Elbe to turn the Allies' 
position at Dresden, which they im- 
mediately evacuated and retired over 
the river. They had hardly left the 
city when N. entered it, but as they 
had blown up the bridge over the Elbe 
a delay of several days was occasioned 
in the army's advance into the Saxon 
capital, as no pontoon trains travelled 
with the French forces. The march 
was resumed again on 18 May. By 
this time the Allies had fortified them- 
selves near Bautzen in a very strong 
position indeed, but N. attacked them 
at this point on the 20th, and after 
a dogged strugg-le of two days' dura- 
tion succeeded in carrying the p>osition. 
The Allies retired in good order, how- 
ever, and N. found himself absolutely 
powerless to follow up his successes 
owing to his lack of cavalry, as the 
Germans were enabled to carry away 
with them cannon and other stores of 
war, and practically no' prisoners were 
taken. So keen was the Emperor to 
rectify this omission that he forced 
his corps commanders to push on their 
infantry brigades in pursuit of the re- 
treating Germans. This led to loose 
marching and want of care in re- 
connaissance, and Bliicher, taking 
advantage of this, fell upon Maison's 
division with some Landwehr cavalry 
and practically decimated it. This 
greatly sustained the Prussian morale ; 
nevertheless, the Allies continued to 
retreat, and N., somewhat alarmed 
at the length of his lines of com- 
miunication and at the attitude of 
Austria, opened negotiations for a 
truce, and the Prussians agreed to 
six weeks' armistice. This has been 
times without number pointed out as 
the gravest error of N.'s military 
career, his reiterated excuse for which 
was want of adequate cavalry. 

Bautzen Campaign. — The suspen- 
sion of hostilities lasted till 15 Aug., 
and N. took advantage of this truce 
to withdraw his forces from the rather 
dangerous position they occupied with 
reference to a possible Austrian ad- 
vance. He then decided to group his 
corps round Bautzen and Gorlitz, so 
that they could either meet the enemy 



264 



LIBERATION 

advancing" from Breslau or attack him 
in flank over the mountains should 
he attempt to enter Saxony by way 
of thei Elbe valley. He thus found it 
necessary to take up a strong" position 
at Dresden, to the neighbourhood of 
which he dispatched the first corps. 
Greatly impressed by his want of 
cavalry, he decided toi take up the 
offensive on the line of the Elbe. He 
had been constantly reinforced of late, 
and at the beginning* of Aug. had 
nearly 400,000 men in Germany. His 
objective was now Berlin, upon which 
he hoped to mass some 300,000 men, 
liberating" the French garrisons at 
Stettin, Kiistrin, and Danzig. Berna- 
dotte had by this time joined the 
Allies, who to the number of 135,000 
were stationed around Berlin and 
Stettin. Blucher with about 95,000 
Russians and Prussians was in the 
neighbourhood of Breslau, and 180,000 
Austrians and Russians under Schwar- 
zenberg" -were disposed in Bohemia. 

No sooner had the armistice ex- 
pired than the advance against 
Berlin commenced, N., however, re- 
maining behind with the main army 
until he could better gauge his 
enemy's plans. After a while he 
threw forward a portion of his army 
in the direction of Blucher, who re- 
tired with the intention of ambushing 
N. Hearing- that Schwarzenberg* and 
his Austrians were moving down the 
Elbe valley, he left Macdonald to 
observe Blucher and hastened back 
by forced marches to Bautzen, intend- 
ing to advance against the Austrians. 
But alarming- dispatches reached him 
from' Dresden, so, chang'ing" his plans, 
he sent Vandamme against Schwar- 
zenberg and hurried with the bulk 
of his army towards the capital of 
Saxony. In seventy hours he marched 
ninety miles, an advance almost un- 
precedented in military history, and 
entered Dresden on the morning of 
the 26th. The Allies did not give 
him much time, but attacked almost 
at once. 

Dresden Campaif^n. — The Battle of 
Dresden was the last of N.'s great 
victories. Occupying two days' time, 
26 and 27 Aug., it began late on the 
afternoon of the former day, Schwar- 
zenberg" having waited as long as pos- 



LIBERATION 

sible for the corps of Klenau, which 
formed his extreme left wing on the 
Freiberg road. About six o'clock in 
the evening" he decided to wait no 
longer, and hurled six heavy columns 
against the suburbs of Dresden, which 
were defended by Gouvion St. Cyr. 
The assault was covered by no less 
than 300 cannon, and the city was 
shortly in flames in several places. 
On the right the Russians under 
Wittgenstein and the Prussians under 
Kleist and Prince Augustus, with 
the Austrians under CoUoredo, moved 
upon the Moczinski redoubt, where 
most desperate fighting took place 
and which was repeatedly taken and 
retaken. To the west an attack was 
made by the other Austrian corps. 
Klenau, however, had failed to come 
up, and the French defences remained 
firm. A counter-attack against the 
Allied left was made by N. The 
Moczinski redoubt was finally re- 
captured from, the Austrians, and the 
Prussians were driven out from the 
position in the Grossegarten. The 
Allied attack had failed, for fresh 
Napoleonic forces were coming up, 
and the Austrian leader, perceiving 
the strength of the French, retired 
once more to the heights. Vandamme 
was, however, by this time in his rear, 
and his position was precarious. 

On the next day, the 27th, N. 
resolved to throw the weight of his 
attack upon Metzko. The deep ravine 
of uhe reiver Plauen separated part of 
the Allied line from the rest. Metzko 
had occupied the villages west of the 
Plauen ravine, and ag"ainst him the 
Emperor resolved to throw the in- 
fantry under Victor and Murat's 
cavalry, hoping thus to isolate and 
overwhelm the Austrian g"eneral. The 
centre, he considered, was capable of 
looking after itself, and the left under 
Ney, including Kellermann's cavalry 
and the Young Guard, was to attack 
the Russians on the Pima road. Thus 
both flanks of the enemy would be 
essayed. His object in concluding 
such a plan is a little vague. Some 
authorities appear to think that, his 
scheme successful, the Pima road 
would have been open to him, but 
it is probable that the attack by his 
left was purely tactical, for there was 



265 



LIBERATION 

massed the main body of the Prussians 
and Russians, and the Napoleonic 
method was ever to concentrate attack 
where, the enemy was most heavily 
massed — that portion of his ranks, 
indeed, which offered the best target 
to artillery. In the morning the 
ground was heavy with rain which 
had fallen through the night, but this 
assisted the Emperor, as his artillery 
was considerably more mobile than 
the German, and was able to take 
up positions and move rapidly where 
his enemy's guns sank in the mud. 
Metzko found himself quite unsup- 
ported and isolated, and had to retire 
to the higher ground towards the 
south-west under the assaults of 
Victor. He M'as outflanked on the 
left by Murat's cavalry, which, act- 
ing in conjunction with Victor's men, 
practically annihilated Metzko's divi- 
sion, the Austrian general himself fall- 
ing at the head of his men, three- 
fourths of whom were killed or taken 
prisoner. 

On the left Ney encountered a 
strenuous Russian resistance in the 
defence of Seidnitz, Grossdobritz, and 
Reick, which villages were doggedly 
held by the Muscovites. The Allied 
generals devised a counter-attack of 
the French centre by way of Stralen, 
thinking to cut off the French left 
from Dresden. The plan was tried, 
but owing to bungling and general 
misunderstanding was an almost 
complete failure. The Allied centre 
remained inactive practically the whole 
day, being cannonaded by the Dres- 
den redoubts the while. The Tsar, 
King of Prussia, Schwarzenberg and 
the headquarters' staff, watching the 
fighting from the hill, offered a capi- 
tal mark to the French guns, which 
dropped shot amongst them, mortally 
wounding General Moreau (q.v.), N.'s 
old companion-in-arms, who was stand- 
ing close beside the Russian emperor. 
The Allied sovereigns desired to con- 
tinue the battle, but Schwarzenberg, 
who knew how exhausted his men 
•were, decided to retreat, an opera- 
tion which was quite unhindered by 
the French, who had insufificient 
cavalry to undertake any effective 
pursuit. Against 200,000 Austrians, 
Russians and Prussians N. had 



LIBERATION 

brought only 96,000 French and 
Saxons. The Allies had lost 38,000 
killed, wounded and prisoners, the 
latter numbering 23,000, fifteen 
colours and twenty-six guns, the 
French losses being about 10,000. 

The Allied retreat continued. An 
attempt by Vandamme with his single 
corps to stop them was naturally un- 
successful, and he was overwhelmed 
by sheer weight of numbers. Oudinot 
at Grossbeeren, near Berlin, and Mac- 
donald on the Katzbach had both been 
severely defeated, but on the whole the 
arms of France had been successful 
in their main object. N. appears to 
have been in a condition of intellectual 
paralysis not only on the day of the 
Battle of Dresden but for several days 
afterwards, for the orders issued by 
him during that period are opposed to 
the strategical principles which he had 
himself laid down. He rode to Mac- 
donald's command for the purpose of 
re-establishing order in it, and behaved 
so violently and improperly that it was 
only with the greatest difficulty that a 
scandal was avoided. Blucher became 
cognizant of his arrival and retreated, 
but was followed by the Emperor, who 
by this action left free the passes over 
the Bohemian mountains. Schwarzen- 
berg seized this advantage, and N. 
found himself forced to retreat on 
Bautzen, but the Austrians deflected 
their march towards Dresden, on being* 
apprised of which N. hastened back 
to that city, concentrated as many 
men as he could lay hands upon, and 
advanced to meet the Austrians. But 
Schwarzenberg relied upon the forces 
of famine, which were now working 
against the French Army, and ap- 
parently careless of these, the Em- 
peror returned to Dresden, where for 
several weeks he remained in com- 
plete inactivity. By the beginning of 
Oct. he had created a fresh plan, in 
which he expressed his intention of 
giviing up his communications with 
France and wintering in and around 
Dresden, though what he was to have 
done so far as the food supply was 
concerned he does not seem to have 
taken into consiideration. 

Leipsic Campaign. — Vl^hile the Em- 
peror remained inactive his enemies 
began to gather around him. Blucher, 



266 



LIBERATION 

Schwarzeaberg', and Bernadotte were 
all drawing" near and holding- him in 
check. On 6 Sept. Ney and Oudinot 
had been defeated at Dennewitz — a 
battle won by Prussian prowess alone, 
which greatly exalted the morale of 
the Prussian Army. Once more the 
Emperor altered his plans. He de- 
cided to fall back towards Erfurt, and 
retired into winter quarters between 
that place and Mag"deburg. Dresden, 
he said, had failed to be of use to Mm 
as a base. A final plan was drawn up 
on 7 Oct., and in this the hand of the 
old N., the man of action, is visible. 
This plan he at once proceeded with, 
as it was noivv perceptible to him that 
his line of retreat was seriously threat- 
ened both by Bliicher and Schwarzen- 
berg. Although he had arranged that 
St. Cyr and Lobau were to quit 
Dresden with him, he finally decided 
to leave them behind him. On the 
13th, while at Diiben, Bliicher was re- 
ported near Wittenberg and Schwar- 
zenberg to the south of Leipsic. The 
army of the north, under Bernadotte, 
lay on the Prussian g-eneral's left near 
Halle, but this circumstance was un- 
known to the Emperor, who' decided 
to throw the most of his forces 
against Bliicher, and, if successful 
against him, deflect the course of his 
army southwards on Schwarzenberg- 
and cut off that commander's com- 
munications wiith hiis base. This 
movement broug-ht him on the 14th 
into Bernadotte 's vicinity, who, when 
he heard of N.'s approach, decided 
to retreat northwards, although both 
Bliicher and Gneisenau entreated him 
to stand fast. On the 15th the Em- 
peror collected his forces to the east 
of Leipsic, and on the evening of the 
same day the Allies formed their 
armies in battle array to attack him. 
N.'s plan was to hurl the bulk of his 
forces upon Schwarzenberg, and with 
this object he massed his men to the 
south-east of Leipsic. The Austrian 
general advanced ag-ainst him down 
the valley of the Elster and Pleisse. 
Most of the Austrian troops were on 
the right bank of the Pleisse, while 
a column of considerable streng-th 
marched on the left bank with the 
object of joining Bliicher on the 
northi. Stern fighting took place on 



LIBERATION 

the 1 6th, but practically no impres- 
sion was made upon the French 
position. Indeed, the Austrians on 
the left bank under Giulay were 
forced to retreat. Bliicher, however, 
impetuously carried the village of 
Mockern, and came within striking 
distance of Leipsic itself. On the 
17th nothing was effected except skir- 
mishing on a large scale. Bliicher 
was waiting for Bernadotte to join 
him and Schwarzenberg with rein- 
forcements, but Giulay 's position was 
shifted nearer to the Austrian centre, 
and this move opened a line of retreat 
for the French towards Erfurt. N. at 
once threw the fourth corps forward 
to keep this road open. Next day 
hostilities were resumed. Bernadotte 
now came up and filled the gap be- 
tween the Austrians and Bliicher, and 
the Allies were further assisted by 
the defection of the Saxons, who 
had remained faithful to the French 
cause but who now went over to the 
Prussians. 

This battle, one of the most im- 
portant and decisive in the world's 
history, and aptly termed the "Battle 
of the Nations," is known to the 
Germans as the "Folk-Slaughter," 
and from it, indeed, may be dated 
the rise of modern Germany as a 
national community. Bliicher's orders 
had been to march upon Leipsic and 
to effect a junction with an Austrian 
division at Markranstadt. A survey 
by the Allies of the position, however, 
decided them to make ready for a 
great battle on the i6th in the neigh- 
bourhood of Leipsic, where N. had 
arrived on the 14th. Things were not 
looking well with him.. There was 
much sickness among his men, who 
had suffered greatly by hung'er and 
the sword, and his Rhenish troops were 
disaffected and meditated desertion. 
If he could break Schwarzenberg- 
before the arriival of the army of the 
north he might yet be successful, even 
although he had Bliicher to face. He 
had still 190,000 men, and if the Allies 
had 300,000 troops they had to strive 
against want of cohesion in leadership. 
The morale of the Allied troops had, 
however, risen greatly of late, and a 
spirit of vengeance, or at least a 
desire for revenge, was actively show- 



267 



LIBERATION 

ingf itself in all ranks of the Prussian 
Army. 

N. sent Bertrand to take up a 
position at Lindenau, west of Leipsic, 
with 10,000 men. The city was to be 
covered to the north by 50,000 French 
troops, who were to co-operate with 
the main army in the event of their 
remaining unhampered by the enemy. 




English Miles. 
'■ 3 4 



The main army itself amounted to 
about 110,000 men, and was drawn 
up in crescent formation south of the 
city, and against this position the 
Allies advanced in a wide semicircle, 
not unlike that favoured by the Zulus 
in their wars of extermination, the 
visible object of whichi was to throw 
out surrounding "horns," or tentacles. 
The most unwise advice on the Allies' 
side was given by the Tsar Alexander, 
whose rede was that the Russians and 
Prussians should remain on the right 



LIBERATION 

bank of the Pleisse, while only the 
larger portion of the Austrian forces 
crossed that river. This move left 
the Allies numerically inferior to the 
French, for by its provisions they 
could only throw 84,000 on to the 
main battlefield. It had another 
effect, for through it three separate 
engagements took place, at Lindenau, 
at Connewitz, and on the 
right bank of the Pleisse. 
The 1 6th Oct. was raw, 
misty and cold, and from 
time to time rain fell 
heavily. The Allies ad- 
vanced in four columns, 
and almost instantaneous 
success was won by the 
Prussians, who wrested 
the village of Mark-Kle- 
berg from the French. 
The second column, under 
the Prince Eugfene, ad- 
vanced against N.'s centre 
at Wachau, which was 
also taken. The French 
line was badly shaken, 
but with the appearance 
of the Emperor on the 
field things assumed a 
different complexion. 
Massing no less than 177 
guns at Wachau, he 
opened a terrific cannon- 
ade, under cover of which 
he threw forward immense 
masses of infantry, who 
forced the Russians back 
into the plain, where, 
failing to find a shred of 
cover, the grape - shot 
played havoc in their 
ranks. The Austrians to 
' the west also had at first 

a partial success, cap- 
turing a village, which, however, 
they afterwards had to surrender. The 
Emperor's determination was, as 
usual, to break through the weakest 
part of the Allied line. This, he per- 
ceived, was at Wachau, and he dis- 
patched Macdonald toi turn their right. 
This move was recognized by the Allied 
sovereigns, who resolved to bring their 
reserves to strengthen the threatened 
point. A good deal of time was lost, 
however, ere this was accomplished. 
The French advance began shortly 



268 



LIBERATION 

after midday. Under cover of a 
devastating" fire 10,000 cavalry under 
Murat charg-ed forward against the 
Prussians. Behind these again ad- 
vanced massed infantry. The cavalry- 
men were at first successful. They 
scattered two battalions of infantry, 
took twenty-six Russian guns, and 
came to the foot of the Wachtberg, 
where the Emperor Alexander stood. 
Had the French infantry followed up 
this charge the battle would have been 
won, but the cohesion among the 
cavalry was not very strong, and their 
advance was checked by a marsh 
between two lakes. From all sides 
opposition arose against them, and 
their advance was stayed. The retreat 
which followed might almost be called 
a rout, while the French guns fired 
indiscriminately upon friend and foe. 
A similar tale had to be told regfard- 
ing the attack on the Allied left. 
Hastily the retreating French columns 
formed square to repel the counter- 
attack, and a sanguinary encounter 
ensued. 

The main Austrian forces had mean- 
while been losing" heavily on the left 
bank of the Pleisse, until at last 
Schwarzenberg resolved to betake 
himself to the chief theatre of action. 
On the whole the Austrians had lost 
severely, and the Army of Bohemia 
had been repulsed in its attack. The 
victory for the first day, therefore, may. 
be said to have lain with the French 
arms, and had Marmont and Ney, who 
were engag'ed with Bliicher, succeeded 
in coming up to the Emperor's assist- 
ance, a decisive French victory would 
undoubtedly have been the result. 

N. had been absent from Wachau 
at the supreme moment of the cavalry 
chargfe, for having heard the sound of 
guns from the direction of Mockern, 
he galloped thither at full speed. 
Bliicher had been aroused by the sound 
of the heavy firing at Wachau, but as 
he was unsupported by Bernadotte, it 
was necessary for him to advance with 
extreme caution. He was not long in 
meeting with Marmont. The French 
marshal at once saw that Bliicher must 
be kept back at all costs, and with this 
in view, he took up a strong position 
between Mockern and Euterich, behind 
which village he posted a larg'e park 



LIBERATION 

of artillery. Bliicher was fully aware 
that the Army of Bohemia must be 
relieved, and that therefore he must 
advance at all costs. A sanguinary 
strugg-le) now rag'ed around Mockern, 
which the French stubbornly defended. 
Savage hand-to-hand fighting took 
place in the narrow streets of the 
village, but the French artillery pre- 
vented a complete occupation. An 
attack on the heights behind Mockern 
was repelled with g^reat loss, but just 
as matters seemed at their worst for 
the Prussians, York threw his entire 
cavalry forces upon the French, who 
g^ave way. The cavalry charge was at 
once followed up by an infantry attack, 
and Marmont's men began to retreat 
upon Leipsic in considerable disorder. 

N. did not attack on the 17th, and 
for this the Allies were only too 
grateful, as next day they expected the 
arrival of Bernadotte and Bennig'sen. 
N. had dispatched an offer for an 
armistice to his father-in-law, the 
Emperor of Austria, which, however, 
remained unanswered. He sent Bert- 
rand to cover a possible retreat by 
securing the passag;es of the Saale, 
and Mortier toi the pass of Lindenau. 
He thus concentrated his whole army 
around Leipsic, forming- a semicircle 
on its north, west and south sides. 
By this time the Allies were twice as 
strong in numbers as he, and more 
than one-third of them were fresh 
troops. The main Allied army, under 
Schwarzenberg", consisted of three 
columns. The first, under the Prince 
of Hesse-Homburg", was to drive the 
French from the Pleisse; the second, 
under Barclay, to advance by way of 
Wachau ; and the third, under Ben- 
nigsen, was to push forward by way 
of Holzhausen. It had been arrang-ed 
to commence operations at 7 a.m., 
but Bennigsen did not arrive till 
two in the afternoon, nor Bernadotte 
until two hours later. The Austrians 
on the extreme left commenced by 
capturing several villag"es, but at 
ConneWitz they came into collision 
with the Young" Guard. Barclay on 
their rig-ht had been met by such a 
heavy fire that he was brought to a 
standstill at Probstheyda, from which 
they were finally ousted after a most 
sanguinary contest. Barclay had been 



269 



LIBERATION 

doubtful of advancing without Ben- 
nigsen's support, and when the latter 
at leng^ came up he marched against 
Macdonald. His advance told by 
reason of the numbers at his disposal, 
and Holzhausen and the neighbour- 
ing* villages fell into the hands of the 
Allies, On Macdonald 's side stood Rey- 
nier with the Saxons and the Wiirt- 
temburgers. These German troops 
deserted to the Allies. The northern 
army and the Prussians under Biilow 
now came to the rescue. They stormed 
the village of Paunsdorf, but N., coming 
up with the Old and Young Guard, 
recaptured it. These were, however, 
forced to retire by sheer weight of num- 
bers. Meanwhile a violent struggle had 
been taking place at Schoenfeld, north 
of Leipsic, between Marmont and Lan- 
geron, the Russian general. It per- 
sisted till nightfall, when the French 
evacuated the village, in which there 
lay 10,000 dead and wounded men. 
The French were at length forced back 
to their entrenchments before Leipsic. 
When this dreadful day of slaughter 
came to an end each side had lost 
about 25,000 men, and even yet no 
decisive result had been reached by 
either army. The French right wing 
had been successful in repulsing every 
attack, but on their left and centre 
they had lost a number of villages. 
In front of Bliicher alone had they 
been driven back upon Leipsic, and 
their line of retreat by Lindenau was 
still open to them. 

N., recognizing the danger of his 
position, gave orders for a retreat. 
This was a dangerous and difficult 
operation, as bis order for the con- 
struction of bridges had not been 
attended to, and the army was forced 
to wind its way through the narrow 
streets of Leipsic, and crossed the 
Pleisse by a single bridge. All order 
was lost, and the Emperor himself 
joined in the streami of fugitives. 

The troops left in the city of Leipsic 
offered a strenuous resistance, and 
this greatly interfered with the Allies' 
pursuit of the retreating French, who 
reformed. No great efforts w^ere made 
to follow them unless by Bliicher, who 
failed to come up with them. Wrede, 
however, intercepted them^ at Hanau 
with 30,000 men. Here, after a bril- 



LIBERATION 

liant artillery action under Drouot, the 
French literally overwhelmed Wrede's 
forces and resumed their marchi, reach- 
ing Mainz on 5 Nov. 

Campaign of Defence. — There was 
evidently no great desire on the part 
of the Allies' political advisers to force 
matters to a crisis, and the young Ger- 
man party, led by Bliicher, had much 
ado toi get permission to pass the 
Rhine. This they did on i Jan. 181 4. 
The Silesians, 50,000 strong, were the 
first to cross, and they were to be 
supported by Schwarzenberg with 
200,000 men and Bernadotte with 
about 120,000, who was to move 
through the Netherlands to Laon. 
The Emperor could not collect so 
many as 200,000 men to meet these 
forces, and of that number more than 
100,000 were held in check by Wel- 
lington on the Spanish frontier. Only 
80,000 could therefore be sent to guard 
the east and north-eastern frontiers. 
About the end of Jan. Bliicher entered 
Nancy, moved up the Moselle valley, 
and came to La Rothi^re, where he 
was surprised and nearly captured by 
a sudden attack. He retreated to a 
strong position which covered the 
valley of the Bar-sur-Aube. At that 
point he was joined by the Austrian 
advance-guard. A consultation de- 
cided them toi fight, as their retreat 
would be greatly hampered by traffic 
and baggage-wagons. They were 
attacked by the Emperor on 2 Feb., 
but the weather was so extremely bad 
that he found his artillery useless in 
the drifting snow, and his columns 
lost their way. He retired to Lesmont 
and thence to Troyes, leaving Mar- 
mont to hold the enemy in check as 
best he could. 

Bliicher, irritated at Schwarzen- 
berg's inactivity, transferred his 
operations to the valley of the 
Marne. He advanced from Vitry 
down the valley, much hampered by 
the terrible weather. His men were 
scattered in order that they should 
not "eat up" the country too quickly. 
Once more he was surprised in the 
night. He attempted to rally his scat- 
tered detachments, but N. quickly took 
them in detail, defeating Sacken at 
Montmirail, York at Champ Aubert, 
and Bliicher and the main body at 



270 



LIBERATION 

Etoges. The entire Silesian Army 
was thus compelled to retreat, and 
N., leaving" Mortier and Marmont to 
deal with them, returned to Troyes 
with his main body to strike at 
Schwarzenberg. At Mormont on 
17 Feb. he successfully defeated his 
enemies and forced them to fall back 
in great disorder upon Bar-sur-Aube. 
Bliicher had, however, rallied his 
detachments and drove Marmont and 
Mortier before him by sheer weight 
of numbers. Ceasing his movements 
agfainst Schwarzenberg, N. returned 
to Blucher, whose left he attacked, 
driving- him back upon Soissons. He 
thoug-ht that he would pin them upon 
that fortified place and thus force them 
to fig-ht or surrender ; but, unluckily, 
the French garrison of the town had 
capitulated only the day beforehand, 
a circumstance of which he was un- 
aware. This permitted the escape of 
the Silesian Army, which, marching- 
northwards, effected a juncture w;ith 
Bemadotte at Laon, so that Bliicher 
had now over 100,000 men at his 
disposal. With this force the Em- 
peror came up at Craonne on 7 March, 
and drove it back upon Laon, where 
he met with Bliicher's main body on 
the 9th. Here he sustained a severe 
check, or, more properly speaking, 
a defeat, and_ with about 30,000 
men was compelled to retire upon 
Rheims. Schwarzenberg recommenced 
his advance, but, hearing once more 
of N.'s approach, retreated to Brienne. 
The Allies then ag-reed to march upon 
Paris, which at that time was an open 
city. The Emperor had determined tO' 
rally such gfarrisons as he could and 
raise the whole country against the 
invaders, and this plan he was in 
process of putting- into execution when 
his instructions fell into the enemy's 
hands. They continued their march tO' 
the capital, and althoug-h opposed by 
Marmont and Mortier on the Mont- 
martre heights, these gave way on 
31 March, just as the Emperor, with 
what was left of the Guards, was 
hurrying to Fontainebleau to join 
themi. The military operations con- 
nected with the fall of the First Empire 
end at this point, and the resulting 
political situation will be found detailed 
in the articles which deal with it. 



LINOIS 

Lisny, Battle of (Waterloo Cam- 
paign).— The last of N.'s victories, 
fought on 16 June 181 5, and one of 
the most fiercely contested encounters 
of a bitter campaign. The Prussian 
Army, 87,000 strong, under Blucher, 
lay on a slope behind the village of 
Ligny — a position which exposed them 
to the full force of the French artillery, 
yet which was stronger than it looked. 
N. determined to attack with his 
60,000 men, and sent orders to Ney 
merely to hold Wellington at Quatre 
Bras and to bring the rest of his force 
and sweep down upon the enemy's 
rear. About three o'clock the action 
began, and only then did the Emperor 
realize the true strength of his enemy. 
The battle raged fiercely with varying 
fortunes until about 5.30, when a 
fearful thunderstormi broke forth, 
under cover of which the French suc- 
ceeded in breaking the Prussian front, 
and, badly mauled, the Prussians were 
compelled to retreat, which they did In 
good order. The Prussians lost about 
14,000 in dead and wounded, and the 
French 11,000. It was a great victory 
for N. — yet not so great as he had 
planned, and had Ney and d'Erlon 
understood their Emperor's commands 
and come to hlis aid at the rear of 
the broken Prussians, the latter could 
hardly have escaped annihilation. 
During the fray Bliicher's horse was 
shot under him, and he himself 
severely bruised. For plan of this 
battle and further particulars, see 
Waterloo Campaign. 

Linois, Charles Alexandre L^on 
Durand, Count (1761-1848).— French 
naval officer; was born at Brest, en- 
tered the navy at the age of fifteen, 
served in the American War, and 
received a command in 1794. After 
being captured by the British and 
released, he went to the East as rear- 
admiral in 1799. In 1 80 1 he success- 
fully repulsed de Saumarez's attack 
in Algeciras Bay. In the following 
year he was again sent to the East, 
was once more captured, and taken 
to England, where he spent some years 
as a prisoner. Returning to France, 
he was made g'overnor of Guade- 
loupe in 1814. Being compelled to 
abandon the island to a British 
force, he was tried by a court-martial, 



271 



LITERARY 

and unanimously acquitted of all 
blame. 

Literary Tastes of Napoleon.— 

Several writers of classical repute 
have brought forward the theory that 
N. had little gfenuine appreciation of 
painting- and the graphic arts in 
general; but that he lacked a love 
of literature has nefver been main- 
tained by any competent or trust- 
worthy historian, and we need not fear 
the possibility of that contention being 
brought forward at some future date. 
For the Emperor's own writings are 
an themselves abundant evidence of his 
fine instinct for literary excellence, this 
being true in particular of his letters, 
which, as Ste. Beuve aptly observes, 
come nearer than anything else to 
constituting a national French epic; 
while Bonaparte won the friendship of 
numerous authors of his day, and 
several of these have testified to his 
shrewd and affectionate understanding 
of both verse and prose. Prominent 
among those who bore such witness 
is the poet Antoine Vincent Arnault 
(1766- 1 834), who, speaking of his 
tragedy, The Venetians, relates that 
he derived' the fifth act thereof — which 
is quite the best part of the whole 
work — direct from suggestions made 
by Bonaparte. And, assuming that 
this enthusiastic tribute should be 
discounted somewhat, for Arnault 
received divers state appointments 
during the opening years of the con- 
sulate, it is the case that N. elicited 
encomiums from sundry people who 
had no cause to feel well disposed to 
him personally, two who belong to 
this latter category being Chateau- 
briand and Mme. R^camier. Nor was 
it only from French writers that the 
Emperor gained homage, Kotzebue 
and Goethe (to bracket together a 
strangely dissimilar pair) having both 
spoken of the pleasure they found 
in intercourse with him; and all this 
makes it the more regrettable that 
France, albeit she has already done 
so much to honour the memory of 
her greatest son, has never seen fit 
to collect the books which erstwhile 
belonged to him, placing them for all 
time in some suitable museum. The 
undertaking would be doubly interest- 
ing in that N. was something of a 



LITERARY 

bibliophile, caring for fine editions, 
and often having a book gorgeously 
bound in morocco, embellishwi with 
blind-tooling; yet this suggested 
garnering-in of his library would 
be attended with considerable if not 
insurmountable difficulties, as will 
appear presently. 

Being blest with comparatively 
little leisure for reading so long as 
he remained in Paris, Bonaparte 
amassed but few books at the 
Tuileries, or at his other home in 
the French capital, the Hotel de 
I'Elys^e-Napoleon, and it was at 
his two favourite country seats, St. 
Cloud and Fontainebleau, that he kept 
the majority of the volumes he loved. 
Those he placed in the former chateau 
were left untouched on the debacle 
of the empire, but after Waterloo 
Bliicher and his dragoons came to 
St. Cloud, doing much damage 
there, and the Emperor's books were 
mostly taken away. A number of 
them eventually drifted to England, 
and, getting betimes into public 
auction-rooms there, they found eager 
purchasers, among those who acquired 
some of them thus being John Sains- 
bury, the compiler of an interesting 
and valuable work, The Napoleon 
Museum. Meanwhile the Fontaine- 
bleau library had undergone vicissi- 
tudes also, for Bonaparte himself had 
had the bulk thereof shipped to himi 
at Elba, while, on his dramatic de- 
parture from that island, he had 
given these books en hloc to the 
municipality of the Elban capital, 
Portoferraio. Scarcely was this 
thoughtful act done, however, ere 
the Duke of Tuscany confiscated most' 
of the volumes, carefully choosing the 
more important items ; and, thanks to 
this spoliation and others which have 
occurred since, the collection now in 
the H6tel de Ville of Portoferraio is 
a mere shred of what N. bequeathed. 
Then, as to the numerous books which 
he collected during his captivity at St. 
Helena, these were brought Hn 1879 to 
London, where they were put to the 
auctioneer's hammer; and so we see 
that, despite the eminent desirability 
of the project, it would be well-nigh 
impossible to bring together nowa- 
days the several librariies which 



272 



LITERARY 

formerly belonged to the Emperor. 
Bourrienne supplies us with evi- 
dence of N.'s early literary tastes. 
"Fromi his first entrance to school," 
says the memoirist in dealing- with the 
Emperor's brief sojourn at the ficole 
Militaire of Brienne, "he manifested 
an eager desire for acquiring know- 
ledge " ; and the same author tells us 
of the young Bonaparte's keen interest 
in Plutarch, whom he read in a French 
translation. Polybius, we are told, 
also delighted him, and Julius Caesar's 
stirring martial work, De Bello Gal- 
ileo, was one of his favourite books 
at this time. Indeed, the taste for 
that soldier's writings appears to have 
remained with the Emperor thfough- 
O'Ut the whole of his life, and, ac- 
cording to some good authorities, 
it materially affected his actions; 
while, almost from the outset of his 
career, he took a keen interest in 
everything relating to Oliver Crom- 
well, this interest being virtually in- 
evitable, inasmuch as Cromwell was 
among the acknowledged heroes of 
Paoli, whom N, as a youth regarded 
as the very king of men. 

On Bonaparte leaving Brienne in 
1784, the inspector of the school, De 
Keralio by name, drew up a brief 
report on the conduct and capacities 
of the departing pupil. It is interest- 
ing to note that in this significant 
document there is a reference to the 
young man's fondness for history ; 
and we find that during N.'s subse- 
quent stay at Auxonne he continued 
to show himself an ardent student of 
this particular department of learning. 
Terribly poor as he was at this time, 
and living in what was little better 
than a garret, he still found the where- 
withal to purchase books; and there 
is record of his versing himself in 
the doings of the ancient Persians, 
Scythians and Thracians, Athenians 
and Spartans, Egyptians and Cartha- 
g^inians. He likewise developed a 
taste for English history, and a digest 
of that topic, from the coming of the 
Romans to the abdication of James II. 
in 1688, is contained in one of the 
voluminous notebooks he filled at 
Auxonne ; while these notebooiks fur- 
ther demonstrate that he was well 
acquainted with the works of Plato, 



LITERARY 

and certain entries in them hint that 
N. was planning the composition of 
a history of his native Corsica. His 
idea, probably, was that a book of 
that sort might help to bring about 
the emancipation of his island home ; 
while, with the same end in view, he 
commenced writing what he called a 
Dissertation sur VAutorite Royale, 
and in a preliminary sketch therefor, 
which is still extant, we find him 
proclaiming that "there are very few 
kings who have not deserved dethrone- 
ment." These downright words sug- 
gest that the young author was fas* 
becoming intimate with the countless 
speculative and iconoclastia writings 
then permeating France; and it is the 
case that about this period he evinced 
a marked fondness for the works of 
the democrat Pierre Thomas Francois 
Raynal (1713-96); while almost simul- 
taneously he became a devotee of that 
famous defender of the rights of man, 
Jean Jacques Rousseau. There are 
highly eulogistic references to the 
latter in documents penned by N. as 
early as 1786, while on his ultimately 
renouncing the cause of Corsica, and 
espousing instead that of the revolu- 
tionary party in France, he naturally 
grew still more enthusiastic in his 
admiration for the writer of Le Con- 
trat Social. This ardour was reflected 
shortly by N.'s own book, Le Souper 
de Beaucaire, published in 1796; but 
later in life the Emperor cooled to- 
wards his idol, and would sometimes 
speak of him disparagingly, as we 
learn from a passage in the M^moires 
of Lucien Bonaparte. Another writer, 
Girardin, relates that N. used even to 
lament the influence Rousseau had 
exerted in France; while an equally 
important authority, Roederer, tells 
that once in 1803 Bonaparte exalted 
Voltaire at the expense of Rousseau 
with these memorable words : " The 
more I read Voltaire the more I like 
him, : he is always reasonable, never 
a charlatan, never a charlatan : he is 
made for mature minds. Up to sixteen 
years of age I would have fought for 
Rousseau against all the friends of 
Voltaire. Now it is the contrary. I 
have been especially disgusted with 
Rousseau since I have seen the East. 
Savage man is a dog." 



273 



LITERARY 

We may be sure that during his 
Italian campaign Bonaparte had little 
time for reading, but on his setting out 
for Egypt he determined to' make good 
use of the leisure he expected toi have 
en voyage, and gave orders that some 
three hundred volumes were to be put 
on board the ship that was to bear 
him over the Mediterranean. It is to 
Bourrienne we are indebted for this 
fact, and the same writer gives much 
interesting information concerning the 
nature of the library, telling that it 
embodied several works on military 
topics, together withi others on travel, 
and a large number of historical 
volumes. One of these last dealt 
with India, another wlithi Prussia; 
while the writings of Livy and 
Thucydides, Justin, Arrian and Poly- 
bius were all included ; and there were 
lives of many eminent soldiers, such 
as Cond6, Turenne and Saxe, Prince 
Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough. 
The section of poetry embraced French 
versions of Homer and Virgil, Tasso 
and Ariosto, these being supplemented 
by a copy of La Fontaine and numer- 
ous volumes representing the French 
drama ; while it need hardly be said 
that the voyager took the legends of 
Ossian, for which he is well known 
to have entertained a fervent admira- 
tion, ranking them above the Iliad and 
the Odyssey. We learn, too, that N. 
had with him Montesquieu's Esprit des 
Lois, while as regards prose faction 
Bourrienne cites works by Le Sage and 
Marmontel, Prevost and Goethe; and 
he says there was a shelf of no fewer 
than forty English novels, but unfor- 
tunately he fails toi g'ive their titles. 
Finally our informant refers to a 
department devoted to philosophy and 
religion, and he tells that this em- 
bodied a book on mythology and 
also copies of the Koran, the Veda, 
and the Bihle. Truly the collection 
was a motley one ! But therein, 
before all else, lies its interest for 
us ; for does not this diversity of 
his library illustrate — better, perhaps, 
than anything else — the wonderful 
breadth of N.'s mind and his eager- 
ness to sound every depth and shoal 
of human knowledge? 

Bonaparte, while in Italy, had ac- 
quired some highly valuable literary 



LITERARY 

treasures, among them what was 
supposed to be a genuine Virgil 
manuscript, formerly the property of 
Petrarch; and now, in Egypt, he 
showed a keen interest in that land's 
antiquities, at the same time giving 
every possible encouragement to the 
French savants who had come with 
himi to explore this field of learning. 
Subsequently, while swaying the 
sceptre of France, he evinced a con- 
stant readiness to aid literature in any 
way, showing especial favour to such 
authors as shared his predilection for 
Ossiian ; while once, when it was 
proposed that an annuity should be 
conferred by the state on the lineal 
descendant of Corneille, the Emperor 
embraced the project gladly, his one 
disagreement being that the suggested 
sum of 300 francs was not nearly large 
enough and that 10,000 francs would 
be a more reasonable figure. Another 
of the great French dramatists whose 
works gained his whole-hearted ad- 
miration was Racine, passages from 
whose plays he was in the habit of 
declaiming to his secretaries. Even 
in Elba he showed himself ever willing 
to enact the part of Maecenas, and the 
letters he wrote during his brief reign 
in the island empire disclose a number 
of illuminating references to his books. 
For example, we find him writing to 
Bertrand charging him to get certain 
volumes handsomely bound, an "N" 
to be tooled upon each ; and divers 
further passages illustrate N.'s peren- 
nial care for his favourite books, his 
desire to see them in good condition, 
and suitably adorned, while the fol- 
lowing words are imbued with the 
true spirit of the bibliophile: "Tell 
your correspondent at Leghorn again 
not to pay for the books until they 
have been accepted, and with the re- 
duction I have indicated for the old 
books. The first books which were 
sent were inferior editions and re- 
mainders. I prefer to wait and have 
a good library." 

Gradually this aspiration was 
realized by the exile, and that col- 
lection we have already spoken of — 
the remains of the library which the 
Emperor bequeathed to the munici- 
pality of Portoferraio — is as diverse, 
almost, as the assemblage carried on 



274 



LITERARY 

the voyag^e to Egypt. Besides works 
by Voltaire, Montaigne, Rousseau, and 
La Fontaine there are two English 
grammars for French students, there 
is a good array of fairy tales, there 
are French translations of Greek and 
Latin classics, and there are works 
on mechanics, chemistry and mili- 
tary science, archaeology, physics 
and zoology, while books of ancient 
and modern history figure largely. 

N.'s early fondness for historiical 
study never forsook hlim altogether. 
His own Last Instructions for the 
King of Rome contains the wise and 
memorable phrase, " Let my son often 
read and reflect on history : this is 
the only true philosophy " ; while those 
Memoirs which the Emperor dictated 
during his sojourn at St. Helena show 
that captivity had not weakened his 
warm interest in the past of France or 
his shrewd and critical understanding 
thereof. We observe, besides, that in 
these Memoirs the writer indulges in 
some fine, incisive comments on Julius 
Caesar; nor was the latter the only 
one of his bygone literary idols to 
■whom N. reverted during his last 
sad period of ostracism. It has been 
pointed out that while First Consul of 
France he hailed Voltaire enthusiastic- 
ally, it has been noted that his library 
at Elba included that author's works, 
and now, in his island prison, he 
turned once again to these works, not 
only perusing them himself constantly 
but often reading them aloud to his 
entourage. Indeed, Montholon de- 
clares that the same plays, particu- 
larly Zaire y were read rather oftener 
than the listeners cared for ! While 
Lord Holland, in his Foreign Re- 
miniscences, tells how annoyed N. 
always was when his hearers betrayed 
signs of inattention. " He watched 
his audience vigilantly," says our 
informant, "and ' Mme. Montholon, 
vous dormez ! ' was a frequent ejacula- 
tion in the course of reading. He was 
animated with all that he read, especi- 
ally poetry, enthusiastic at beautiful 
passages, impatient at faults, and full 
of ingenious and lively remarks on 
style." 

Is there not something curiously 
pathetic in this picture of the imperial 
exile striving to imbue others with a 



LITERATURE 

taste for what he himself appreciated 
so well? And is there not a strange 
fascination in the thought of N., the 
storm and stress of his wonderful 
career nearly over, finding pleasure, if 
not consolation, in the very books he 
had loved during the days of his glit- 
tering triumphs ? Well might he h^ve 
said, with one of the greatest authors 
of his own time : 

"On revient toujours 
A ses premiers amours." 

Literature Under Napoleon.— 
It would have seemed no more 
than natural had N.'s martial 
triumphs evoked a worthy epic or 
some stirring chronicle in prose to 
vie with the pages of Froissart or 
Gibbon ; and it would have seemed 
no more than inevitable had N.'s bril- 
liant consolidation of France after the 
storms of the Revolution served to give 
the literature of the time a singularly 
definite and coherent character. The 
epic, however, went uncomposed, while 
no brilliant historian was forthcoming 
to record the wonderful campaigns ; 
and the literary output of France in 
the Emperor's day, far from reflect- 
ing that unity of aimi andi style which 
mark coeval painting and sculpture, 
is curiously deficient in anything of 
that nature. In short, so far as 
literature was concerned the Napo- 
leonic period was merely a transitional 
one, and its better writings are mostly 
an echo of the bygone school of the 
siecle Louis XV., or, on the other 
hand, a faint promise, a foreshadow- 
ing, of that ^cole romantique which 
was to dawn under Charles X. and 
Louis Philippe. 

For though Voltaire and Rousseau 
had both been dead for twenty years 
when Bonaparte was made Fjrst Con- 
sul, the speculative and iconoclastic 
ideas promulgated by them — and by 
men like Condillac, Montesquieu, and 
Diderot — were still rife in France, if 
not actually dominant over the tenor 
of her thought. And the work of 
many Napoleonic authors consisted 
largely not in creating a new manner 
or a point of view of their own, but 
in striving to follow in the footsteps 
of the group mentioned above. To 
this category belongs Guillaume Ray- 
nal, with whom Bonaparte himself was 



275 



LITERATURE 

friendly as a young" man, and who, 
albeit a churchman by profession, was 
as pronounced a pag^an as Voltaire had 
been. He was, indeed, even more 
acrimonious and fantastic than the 
latter in assaulting- relig^ion, while he 
sought to emulate Rousseau as a trum- 
peter of the rights of man ; and it is 
a significant fact that in some early 
editions of Raynal's Histoire des dejix 
Indes there is a frontispiece portrait 
of the author with the inscription, 
"The defender of humanity, of truth, 
of liberty." A more engag^ingf figure 
is Bernardin de St. Pierre, who had 
known Rousseau personally and shared 
his faith in human nature, his belief 
in the possibility of wide reform ; while 
Bernardin, agfain like Jean Jacques, 
was a lover of wild landscapes, as wit- 
ness many pagfes of description in his 
Voyage a Vile de France. He held 
that communion with nature in her 
wilder moods is of all thing^s the 
one most beneficial to mankind — far 
more beneficial than that vaunted 
thing" civilization — and this and 
kindred theories he soug'ht to pro- 
pound in his Paul et Virginie, an 
idyllic tale of the tropics which won 
an instant success, N. being among- 
those who avowed keen admiration 
therefor. Somewhat akin to St. 
Pierre is a slightly later author, 
Etienne Pivert de Senancour; but, 
while sharing" his predecessor's love 
of wild nature, he is a much more 
introspective writer, and his best 
book, Ohermann, was loved by 
Matthew Arnold on account of what 
that critic happily styled its "pro- 
found inwardness." Moreover, we 
mark in Senancour a certain mor- 
bidity which is but little in evidence 
in St. Pierre; and the former, along- 
with numerous of his contemporaries 
in literature, seems to have felt bit- 
terly that the Revolution had been a 
mere will-o'-the-wisp, and that man 
was not destined really to be any 
happier after that great upheaval than 
he had been before it. 

This feeling of disenchantment is 
apparent again in Benjamin Constant's 
Journal Intime. The same feeling- is 
prominent in another of his works, 
his novel of Adolphe, a book which 
excited a gfreat influence on Mme. 



LITERATURE 

de Stael ; and, pondering on the 
prevalence in Napoleonic literature of 
this particular sentiment, one natur- 
ally asks whether it was this which 
made many authors of the Dime 
look fondly into the remote past, to 
whose romance and beauty people had 
been rather blinded by the Revolution. 
N. himself, a keen lover of history and 
archaeology, further showed his devo- 
tion to the antique world by his lively 
interest in the legendary poems of 
Ossian, and his taste herein was 
shared by a host of writers of the day, 
notably La Harpe, Arnault, and Baour- 
Lormian, the latter going" so far as 
to essay a translation of the Celtic 
bard (iSoi), this translation being 
warmly received by literary Paris. 
Baour-LormSan further testified his 
love of antiquity by writing a play on 
a biblical theme, while simultaneously 
Creux de Lesser evinced an equal 
fondness for the dead world by ex- 
huming and rewriting some of the 
Arthurian stories, a field of literature 
to which Frenchmen had lately been 
strangely neglectful. While the latter 
was at work in this praiseworthy and 
interesting way, the poet Marie Joseph 
Ch^nier — brother of that greater poet, 
Andre Chenier, whoi had perished on 
the revolutionary scaffold in 1794 — 
strove to inaugurate a school of 
national tragedy with his drama of 
Charles IX., and this attem/pt of his 
was followed by analogous efforts by 
various men, prompted, no doubt, by 
the knowledge that the Emperor was 
an ardent devotee and patron of the 
tragic muse. These endeavours, how- 
ever, resulted in little excellence, the 
plays being mostly marred by pomp- 
ousness and unnatural diction ; nor 
werd the accompanying essays in 
comedy much more successful. But 
the new love of the antique world, 
sending men Into countries rich in 
historic associations as It did, at least 
begot several good books of travel, 
one of these being the Comte de Vol- 
ney's Les Ruines ; ou Meditations sur 
les Revolutions des Emfires. This 
work, as its title indicates, is among 
the things reflecting in some measure 
what we have spoken of already — the 
vast influence of the Rousseau group ; 
and It would be almost impossible, in 



276 



LITERATURE 

fact, to exag"gerate the spell which 
these men bequeathed to the France of 
the Consulate and the Empire. There 
were autobiographers prior to Jean 
Jacques, yet he, more than any writer 
before hiim, enticed men to the practice 
of unbosoming- themselves in print. 
And perhaps he partly linspired Con- 
stant to the penning" of the esoteric 
work already mentioned ; perhaps it 
was his lead which induced Eug^^ne 
E^elacroix to keep that journal of his 
which is so valuable still to the student 
of painting-; while, finally, it was pos- 
sibly Rousseau's example which made 
Dominique Ing-res think of writing- his 
voluminous notebooks, rich not only in 
personal avowals, but in fragments of 
aesthetic theory. This same practice 
of theorizing about the arts increased 
very perceptibly during the Napoleonic 
period, and among the best results 
thereof was the Pensies of Joseph 
Joubert, written during the Empire, 
though not published till a later time; 
while we should also' mention the 
critical writings of La Harpe, an 
author who has been already cited as 
an Ossianic devotee. He, on the eve 
of Bonaparte's attalining to imperial 
power, delivered a series of lectures 
on literature; and, Sf these show only 
too clearly that his knowledge of the 
ancient classics was superficial, they 
embody much shrewd and erudite 
matter about the great French authors, 
particularly those of the seventeenth 
century. 

Turning our attention now to Mme. 
de Stael {q.v.), we pause, in the first 
place, to ask whether she belonged to 
the aftermath of the Louis XV. school, 
or if she was one of those prefiguring 
the icole romantique ; and we are con- 
strained to answer that she had a foot 
in each camp, soi disant : she pertained 
partly to the old group, partly to the 
new. Although a good part of her life 
was made up of wanderings, she spent 
much of her girlhood in Paris, where 
she conversed freely with the men of 
letters of the time, and, being of alert 
intelligence, she soon became intimate 
with the current ideas about freedom, 
progress, and so forth. One of her 
first writings, accordingly, was a 
panegyric on Rousseau, while her 
next important work bore the title 



LITERATURE 

De la Litterature considerie dans ses 
Rapports avec les Institutions Sociales, 
and here liberty of thought is exalted, 
the authoress maintaining that only 
when man is free does his intellect 
develop, and that only when he is 
developing thus can he possibly 
create vital literature. A further book 
of philosophical bent which Mme. de 
Stael produced was De VAllemagne, 
while still later, in Considerations sur 
le Revolution Frangaise, she defended 
the Jacobins, while emphasizing their 
errors and their extravagances. But 
the authoress, being amply dowered 
with that egotism which as often as 
not accompanies literary gifts, was not 
minded to expend all her energies In 
wriiting speculative theses, and two 
very personal books which came from 
her pen were the novels of Delphine 
and Corinne. Each is the history of 
a woman of genius who, understood 
Imperfectly by the wodd at large, has 
unfortunate love affairs besides, and 
in both books we detect a hint of that 
deification of individuality which was 
afterwards to be among the ruling 
tenets of the "Romantics." 

While Mme. de Stael was widely 
read in her own time, not only on the 
Continent but in England, her work is 
little known to-day ; and her name is 
remembered rather on account of her 
long duel with N., whose arbitrary 
sway she opposed strongly, being- 
banished from France for her pains. 
Chateaubriand (q.v.) also, though ad- 
miring Bonaparte, had ruptures with 
the Imperial rule; yet this author is 
not remembered for that reason, but 
by his writings. A scion of a noble 
house in Brittany, a district long 
famous for Its loyalty to the crown, 
Chateaubriand naturally disliked the 
Revolution, and as a young man he 
demonstrated this dislike loudly in an 
essai on the fall of Louis XVL, In 
which he showed himself cynical about 
the doctrine of possible human pro- 
gress. While busy with this work the 
death of his mother turned his mind 
towards religion, and having found 
much solace therein, he crystallized his 
feelings on the subject in his Gdnie du 
Christianisme. Here he called upon 
men to employ their imaginative 
faculty, without the use of which 



277 



LODI 

Christianity cannot be appreciated ; 
and so, while the Gdnie was partly a 
harking- back to old ideals, it was 
simultaneously something of a herald 
of the romantic g^roup. Certainly in 
two parts of it, R4n^ and Atala, the 
author anticipated that love for a re- 
condite and bizarre setting- which was 
afterwards toi distingfuish many of the 
youngf men who clustered round Hug-o ; 
while at the same time Chateaubriand 
forestalled some of these men by exalt- 
ing the primitive at the expense of the 
modern civilized world, this criticism 
applying not only to the two writings 
named above but also to the writer's 
Les Natchez, which g-ives an ideal- 
istic picture of the life of Red Indians. 
This was followed by Les Martyrs and 
Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem, these 
being succeeded by a book evoked by 
Spanish travel, Aventures du dernier 
des Ahencerages ; while the eve of the 
author's death witnessed the publica- 
tion of his fantastic autobiographical 
work, Memoires d'outre-tomhe. All 
these works are couched in a rich and 
hig-hly coloured style, which we may 
well suppose proved a stimulant sub- 
sequently to Gautier, that arch-type 
of "romanticism"; and it is this 
wonderful style of his — more than 
any weight possessed by his philo- 
sophy, for thought has broadened since 
his day, and many of his speculations 
sound like truisms now — ^which merits 
Chateaubriand a place among- the great 
Frenchmen. At one time holding a 
commission in the army, at another 
time a traveller in search of the 
North-West passage, and later in life 
an ambassador, he was yet preoccu- 
pied chiefly from first to last with 
high literary aspirations, and hence 
he is one of the very few Napoleonic 
authors who have -won anything like 
immortality. 

Lodi. — The battle of the Bridge of 
Lodi, as N. himself said, "first kindled 
the spark of boundless ambition " in 
his soul, and proved to be a turn- 
ing-point of his career. During his 
pursuit of the retreating Austro^Sar- 
dinian Army under Beaulieu in May 
1796, after a short, sharp fight, N. 
succeeded in rushing the bridge which 
was held by the enemy's rear-guard and 
barred his way to the town of Lodi. 



L0I80N 

The engagement was of small military 
importance, as Beaulieu 's main army 
was far away, but it gained for N. 
the hearts of his soldiers and a reputa- 
tion for great personal bravery. It is 
related by Las Cases that at the close 
of the day the French soldiers saluted 
their commander with affectionate ad- 
miration as le petit caporal — the phrase 
which has become immortal. 

Loison, Oliver, Governor of St. 
Cloud. — Was a native of Domvillers, 
but the year of his birth, as well as 
his early history, is unknown. His 
father, however, was an attorney, and 
Oliver entered the military profession 
on the breaking out of the French 
Revolution. He began as a private in 
the Guards, and was among the first 
in that regiment to desert and join 
the standard of liberty. When the 
National Guards were formed at Paris 
he tried to obtain a commission from 
Lafayette, but the request was re- 
fused as Loison could neither read 
nor wriite. In revenge he became 
Lafayette's enemy, and accused him 
to the Jacobin Club. 

He was one of the leaders in the 
mob which attacked the Tuileries in 
Aug. 1792, in which affair he was 
wounded and confined to hospital for 
seven months. During this time, it 
is said, he learned to read and write. 
On his recovery Robespierre gave him- 
the command of a battalion, and he 
joined the Army of the Ardennes ; and 
in 1795 ^^ became general of brigade, 
and assisted Napoleon in the affair of 
the sections. Later he joined Massena 
in Switzerland, where he became 
general of division and usefully served 
that commander. In 1800 Bonaparte 
sent Loison to organize a division of 
the Army of Reserve assembled at 
Dijon, but at the battle of Marengo 
he did not distinguish himself, and 
came into disfavour with the First 
Consul. 

On the establishment of the Empire 
Loison received the cross of the 
Legion of Honour, and the governor- 
ship of St. Cloud. He distinguished 
himself in the campaign of 1805, and 
was made governor of the provinces of 
Mlinster and Osnabriick, where he re- 
mained two years, greatly, it is said, 
to his personal enrichment. 



278 



LOUIS 

He took part in the invasion of 
Portugal in 1808, and there his path 
was strewn with deeds of the most 
unprincipled and cruel nature. Vil- 
lages were pillaged and burned and 
their inhabitants massacred. Even 
the convents and churches were not 
respected, and the clergy were special 
objects of vengeance. 

At the time of Napoleon's abdica- 
tion in 1 81 4 he went over to the 
royalist party, but he was believed to 
be an accessory to Ms late master's 
escape from Elba, and he served 
Napoleon zealously during* the Hun- 
dred Days. After the battle of 
Waterloo he fled to Liege, where he 
possessed an estate, and there he died 
in i8i6. 

Louis XVIIL, "Louis le Desire" 
(1755-1824).— Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, 
Comte de Provence, was the third son 
of the dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV. , 
and of Maria-Josepha of Saxony.. His 
birth took place at Versailles on 17 
Nov. 1755. Although his education 
was supervised by the devout Due de 
la Vaugoyon, his tastes were for Vol- 
taire and the encyclopaedists. He mar- 
ried Louise-Marie-Josephine of Savoy 
in 1771, but no children were born 
of the union. His abilities were far 
greater than any his brother Louis 
XVL possessed, and to these he 
added unbounded ambition, but his 
position necessarily limited any pos- 
sibility of a career. Prompted by 
jK>litical motives and ambitions, Louis 
stayed on in Paris even after the 
taking of the Bastille, and Mirabeau, 
in his plans for a constitutional 
government, thought of him as a 
possible chief minister, but this fell 
through when Mirabeau percdved 
how the undoubted abilities of the 
prince were spoiled by his undue 
caution and timidity. In Dec. 1789 
the affaire Favras aroused popular 
feeling against Louis, and it was 
commonly believed that Monsieur had 
conspired with Favras only to desert 
hlim, a belief certainly supported by 
the evidence of his character. In the 
month of June 1791 came the flight 
to Varennes, and Monsieur also con- 
sidered it time to leave, but chose a 
safer route. With him was the Comte 
d'Avaray, his confidant and counsellor, 



LOUIS 

and together they were successful in 
reaching Brussels. Here he joined the 
Comte d'i\rtois, and they next pro- 
ceeded to Coblentz, which became the 
headquarters of the emigration. Here 
Monsieur instituted royal state, and 
made himself head of the counter- 
revolutionists. He appointed ambassa- 
dors and implored the aid of other 
governments, that of Catherine of 
Russia in particular. His selfish policy 
certainly did not help his brother Louis 
XVL, for not only was he far from 
understanding the development of 
affairs in France, but he baulked in 
every way the representatives of the 
King and Queen. Moreover, he was 
surrounded by anti-revolutionists who 
preached a gospel of retaliation as 
bloody as that of the Revolution. On 
the death of Louis XVI. Monsieur 
proclaimed himself regent at Hamin, 
in Westphalia, where he had been 
forced to retire after Valmy. Later 
he settled at Verona, and here, on 
learning of the death of his nephew 
Louis XVII. (8 June 1795), ^^ assumed 
the title of Louis XVIII. His life was 
from now onwards a turmoil of wan- 
dering, soliditing help, and incessant 
intrigue. In 1796 he joined Condi's 
army, then on the German frontier, 
but being asked to leave the country 
he next proceeded to Blankenberg, 
living on the hospitality of the Duke 
of Brunswick. In 1797, however, this 
was closed to him, and his next rest- 
ing-place was Mittau, in Courland, 
where he was accorded permission to 
settle by Paul I. It was from Mittau 
he sent letters to Bonaparte inviting 
him, with adroit flattery, to play the 
role of Monk. 

After Mittau, from which he was ex- 
pelled by some whim of Paul I., Louis 
lived at Warsaw for three years, and 
bent his energies to the conversion: 
of France to the Bourbon cause. A 
secret conseil royal, founded in Paris 
by Royer-Collard, Montesquiou, and 
Clermont-Gallerande, was working in 
his interest, but the rivalry of the 
Comte d'Artois obstructed all develop- 
ment. The cause was hopeless after 
1800, with the failure of Cadoudal and 
the death of the Due d'Enghien to 
warn the conspirators of the fate 
awaiting them. Meeting at Calmar 



279 



LOUIS 

(Sweden), Louis and the Coimte 
d'Artois, however, issued a protest 
condemning- N.'s action. Louis was 
now warned not to return to Poland, 
hence he again returned to Mittau 
with Alexander's permission. After 
Tilsit it was decided that Eng^land 
offered the safest refuge, and Louis 
and the royalist foUowing* departed 
thence, residing" first at Gosfield 
(Essex) and afterwards at Hartwell, 
Buckinghamshire. In 1810 his wife 
died, and in 181 1 he lost his favourite 
and confidant, the Comte d'Avaray. 
His place, however, was supplied by 
the Comte de Blacas. 

The hopes of the royalists revived 
after N.'s defeats in 1812, and to' help 
matters towards the desired end Louis 
issued a proclamation in which he 
solemnly promised to recognize the 
liberties gained by the Revolution. 
Neg-otiations were also entered into 
with Bernadotte, who, however, was, 
as always, simply bent on serving- his 
own interests. In March 1814 the 
return of the Bourbons was success- 
fully negotiated by Talleyrand. To 
him belongs the doubtful credit of 
restoring" their disastrous rule to 
France, for neither Austria nor Russia 
had any love for the family. Louis 
entered Paris on 2 May 1814, after 
the edict of St. Ouen, in which he 
had promised to g"ive the country a 
constitution. But personal and family 
influences, foremost with him, drew 
him into unpopular measures dictated 
by the reactionary and clerical party, 
who flourished under the leadership 
of the Comte d'Artois and the nar- 
row-minded Duchesse d'Angoul^me. 
Suspicion of his good faith was 
aroused, for the Bourbon tradition 
commanded little respect in France, 
and personally the people had been 
revolted by the harsh expression and 
enormous obesity of the King-. The 
army was shamefully treated and 
alienated by the creation of the Malison 
Militaire, whilst politically any attempt 
at the formation of a united ministry 
Avas rendered impossible by the ever- 
present favourite Blacas. During the 
Hundred Days Louis took refuge at 
Ghent, and was well served by Fouoh^, 
Talleyrand, and other traitors to N. 
On the second Restoration, or, rather, 



LOUIS 

as a condition of it, the dismissal of 
Blacas was demanded. The 8th of 
July saw the return of Louis to Paris, 
as his enemies said, " in the bag"g"ag-e- 
train of the Allied Armies." His 
security he owed neither to personal 
popularity nor to the people's love for 
the Bourbons — it was simply owing- to 
the material exhaustion of a nation 
which above all desired peace. In re- 
ward for their services Louis retained 
Talleyrand and Fouohd in his first 
ministry, but having- sufficient insig-ht 
into their characters, he soon contrived 
to rid himself of them. The second 
Restoration was disfig^^red by the 
bloodthirsty execution of Marshial 
Ney {q.v.) instig-ated by the Duchesse 
d'Angouleme. Lavalette (q-v.) was 
likewise doomed to the same fate, 
but fortunately escaped. 

The political affairs of the remain- 
ing years of Louis's reig-n were ag^ain 
dominated by favourites and disturbed 
by the reactionaries and clericals. N.'s 
death and the birth of a posthumous 
son tot the Due de Berry, tog-ether with 
the resignatiion of Richelieu, further 
strengthened their power. At length 
all rule passed out of the King-'s hands 
when the Comte d'Artois became asso- 
ciated with the government. The death 
of Louis took place on 16 Sept. 1824. 

Louis XVIII. was a true Bourbon 
both in his love of power and in his 
cold and selfish nature. He was essen- 
tially unprincipled and false, his talent 
for intrig-ue making- him a really g-ood 
diplomatist. Kindness of heart he 
certainly never possessed, but senti- 
mentality took its place, thoug-h any 
manifestation of charity was solely 
for favourites and family. 

Louis Philippe (1773-1850).— 
Due de Chartres, King of the French, 
and finally Count of Neuilly, eldest 
son of the Due d' Orleans (Philippe 
Eg-alit^) ; was born in 1773. He was 
educated by Mme. de Genlis (q.v.), 
to whose training- one may trace many 
of his later characteristics. He entered 
the army, and when the Revolution 
broke out he enthusiastically embraced 
its principles. In 1792 he commanded 
the Army of the North, and was 
present at Valmy and Jemappes. Al- 
thoug-h posing as an adherent of the 
republic, at heart Louis Philippe was 



280 



Vquise 

a royalist, and was concerned in 
Dulaouriez's plot (March 1793) to 
overthrow the republic. He manag^ed 
to escape, and left France. At the 
death of his father on the scaffold in 
Nov. 1795 he became Due d'Orl6ans 
and the mag-net round which the 
Orleanist schemes gravitated. He, 
however, cautiously refused to be a 
party to these intrigues, and in 1796 
he went to the United States, where 
he remained for four years. On hear- 
ing' of the coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire 
he returned to France, and was recon- 
ciled to the exiled Louisi XVIH. He 
declined, nevertheless, to fig'ht against 
France, and with his brothers went tO' 
Twickenham, not far from London, 
where they lived for seven years. Both 
of bis brothers died of consumption, 
and in 1809 Louis Philippe married the 
Princess Mai^ie Amelia, daughter of 
Ferdinand of Sicily. In 1814, after 
N.'s abdication, he returned to France, 
was well received by the King", and the 
remains of the Orleans estates were 
resftored to him. N.'s return from 
Elba scattered the Bourbons once 
more, and England again became 
Louis Philippe's home until the expiry 
of the Hundred Days. From the year 
1817 he resided permanently in France, 
until the revolution of 1830 and the 
deposition of Charles X, placed him 
upon the throne. In 1848 he was 
oblig'ed to fly from; France, and 
coming' to England he took up his 
abode at Claremont, where he died 
in 1850. 

Louise CAu^uste Wilhelmina 
Luise)(1776-1810).— Queen of Prussia, 
daug-hter of the Duke of Mecklenburg- 
Stretitz; was born at Hanover in 1776. 
In 1793 she was married to the Crown 
Prince of Prussia, who four years later 
ascended the throne as Frederick Wil- 
liam III., and Louise became g^reatly 
beloved amongst the Prussian people. 
A woman g-ifted not only with beauty 
but with nobleness, and of no mean 
intellect, she was alsoi a model wife, 
mother and queen. When Prussia lay 
bruised under the heel of N. she 
proved herself possessed of courag'e 
and dignity. After Jena (1805) she went 
to Konigsberg with the King-. During 
the negotiations which preceded the 
signature of the Treaty of Tilsit she 



LOUISIANA 

made a personal appeal to N. that 
Prussia should have Magdeburg, but 
he would only promise to think the 
matter over. It was now that the 
incident of the rose occurred. Louise, 
who (had been N.'s honoured guest at 
dinner, spent a few moments talking^ 
to him before leaving. Selecting* a 
lovely rose he gallantly offered it to 
her. The Queen hesitatingly extended 
her hand to take it, saying- : " At least 
with Magdeburg." "Madame," N. 
replied coldly, "it is mine to give and 
yours to accept." Her efforts had been 
in vain. In 1808 she and her husiband 
were at Memel, thence going- to St. 
Petersburg-, and during this time the 
royal pair were actually in want. N.'s 
treatment of Louise can only be de- 
scribed) as shameful, and originated 
probably in his recognition and fear 
of her influence, which was consider- 
able. His calumnies — the best known 
of which referred toi the Tsar's rela- 
tions with her — 'remained, however, 
unproved, and, indeed, only added to 
the love with which she was regarded 
in Prussia. She died in 1810, and was 
buried in the g-arden of the palace of 
Charlottenburg-. A statue of her stands 
in the Tierg-arten at Berlin. 

Louisiana, Sale of.— The sale of 
Louisiana to the United States of 
America in 1803 is one of the most im- 
portant events in the history of that 
republic. The name Louisiana was 
given to a vast tract of territory 
stretching" northwards from the Gulf 
of Mexico along the western bank of 
the Mississippi almost to the Canadian 
lakes. It is probable that the first 
Europeans to traverse the Mississippi 
valley were Spaniards, but in 1682 a 
French explorer, La Salle, took pos- 
session of the territory in the name 
of Louis XIV., in whose honour he 
christened it Louisiana. An attempt 
which he made later to colonize it 
proved unsuccessful, thoug-h towards 
the close of the century a colony was 
founded under Iberville. In 171 2 St 
was granted by the French king to one 
Antoine Crozat, who held it for five 
years at great cost to himself, for it 
was then a most unprofitable terri- 
tory. In 1 7 17 he transferred it to 
the Western Company, at the head 
of which was John Law, a Scottish 



281 



LOUISIANA 

financier, who planned the develoip- 
ment of the Mississippi region. Under 
the supremacy of this company the 
prosperity of Louisiana g^reatly in- 
creased, while its capital, New Orleans, 
was founded by the French g^overnor 
in 1718, and named after the Bourbon 
Duke of Orleans. In 1731, however. 
Law's company failed, and Louisiana 
reverted to the crown. 

In 1762 the Mississippi valley was 
ceded to Spain by a secret treaty, and 
by the end of the eig"hteenth century 
it included Florida, New Orleans, and 
all the district to California. At this 
period both France and the United 
States had designs on Louisiana, the 
former desiring to build up a colonial 
empire in the western hemlisphere, 
while the latter could not but recog- 
nize that the possession of New 
Orleans and the Mississippi valley 
would prove of incalculable value 
commercially, since all their exports 
must pass that way. As it was they 
were dependent on Spanish conces- 
sions, the Gulf of Mexico and the 
Mississippi having been opened to 
them by a treaty with Spain signed 
in 1795. 

In Oct. 1800, by a secret convention 
signed at St. Ildefonso, Charles IV., 
King of Spain, surrendered Louisiiana 
to France in exchange for the province 
of Tuscany (the kingdomi of Etruria, 
as St now came to be called), which 
was ceded to the heir of Louis, Duke 
of Parma, son-in-law toi the King of 
Spain. The bargain does not seem a 
very sound one from the point of v!iew 
of the Bourbon king, but Charles was 
perfectly satisfied, and would not be 
dissuaded from the surrender by the 
protests of his more prudent minister 
Godoy. To' the Americans the trans- 
fer of Louisiana from the weak rule 
of Spain to the powerful control of 
France was very odious, and the con- 
templation of such a step drew a re- 
monstrance from the United States, 
which was met by the assuirance that 
the transaction would not take place. 
Immediately afterwards N. tried to 
replace the convention of St. Ilde- 
fonso by a formal act of transfer 
which would confirm the cession of 
Louisiana. In addition he proposed 
that Charles should cede Florida to 



LOUISflAIVA 

France in exchange for the Duoh^ of 
Parma, which had fallen to the Con- 
sulate on the death of the Duke of 
Parma, father of King Louis of 
Etruria, but to this the Spanish king 
would not agree. 

Meanwhile N. had conveyed a 
French force to America for the pur- 
pose of occupying Louisiana, though 
it was ostensibly sent to the aid of 
Leclerc in San Domingo. The Gulf 
of Mexico was then (Oct. 1802) closed 
to United States shipping, to the in- 
tense indignation of the Americans, 
who roused their padific president, 
Jefferson, into sending Monroe to 
Paris to effect a coimpromise. By this 
time various circumstances had comr 
bined to make his American colonies 
distasteful to Bonaparte. He would 
have liked to occupy Louisiana by 
force of arms, but knew that to do so 
would be to face an alliance of Great 
Britain and the United States, a step 
he was by no means prepared to 
take. Then the news reached him 
of Leclerc's death and of disaster to 
the St. Domingo expeditionary force. 
Moreover, he had begun to look long- 
ingly towards Egypt, and to dreami of 
conquests in Europe and the Orient. 
Consequently the American minister 
found him in an unusually conciliatory 
mood. 

Monroe had been authorized by his 
government merely to demand the re- 
storation to the United States of free 
trading rights on the Mississippi and 
the Gulf of Mexico, or at most to 
purchase the Floridas if these had 
passed into the hands of the French. 
The accession of Louisiana was a 
matter of such magnitude that Jeffer- 
son had not seriously contemplated it. 
But N. had already decided that he 
could not hope to retain his American 
colonies; therefore he nonplussed the 
American minister by offering to sell 
to the United States the whole of 
Louisiana. Finally, and still without 
the authority of his government, 
Monroe closed with the bargain, the 
price was fixed at the absurdly trifling 
sumi of 60,000,000 francs, and on 
30 April 1803 the sale was formally 
carried out. N., for his part, acted 
entirely on his own responsibility 
throughout, neither consulting the 



282 



LOVE 

deputies nor heeding the advice of 
Talleyrand nor giving" ear to the 
protests of his brothers Joseph and 
Lucien Bonaparte, who for various 
reasons were keenly disappointed at 
the surrender. 

The acquisition of Louisiana, now 
one of the busiest and wealthiest 
Ix>rtions of the United States, with 
a population of over 15,000,000, as 
compared with 80,000 in 1803, was, 
as has been indicated, an event of 
supreme importance in American 
history. An American writer. Prof. 
Sloane, says : " Excluding the Flori- 
das, which Spain would not con- 
cede as a part of it, and the Oregon 
country, the territory thus acquired 
was greater than that of Great 
Britain, Germany, France, Spain, 
Portugal, and Italy combined. Its 
agricultural and mineral resources 
were, humanly speaking, inexhaust- 
ible." Yet, fortunate as it proved to 
be, the Louisiana purchase can hardly 
be called a masterly stroke of policy 
on the part of America, since the idea 
of purchasing that vast terr^itory had 
never been seriously entertained by 
the United States government, nor 
seriously thought of by its minister. 
It was, instead, merely the result of 
a curious combination of external 
circumstances, which at the critical 
moment caused N. to relinquish his 
hold of Louisiana. It enabled him to 
turn his attention to Europe and the 
East with hands unencumbered, to 
prevent the dreaded alliance of Eng- 
land and the United States against 
France, and indirectly to threaten 
British naval supremacy by strength- 
ening the United States. Yet, what- 
ever may have been the advantages 
accruing to N., the bartering of this 
valuable state for the paltry sum of 
60,000,000 francs remains one of the 
enigmas of modern history. 

Love Affairs of Napoleon.— 
Although the sentiment of love had but 
a small part in N.'s life, and not the 
slightest influence upon his aims, he 
was the hero of several intriigues more 
or less well known. He has himself 
left us the fragmentary account of his 
chance meeting with a young demi- 
mondaine of the Palais Royal en- 
countered in his early youth in Paris, 



LOWE 

as also of his sentiments for Mile, du 
Colombier. His amourettes of later 
life were for the most part carefully 
concealed, but this was not the case 
with his intrigue with Mme. Four^s, 
the milliner of Carcassonne, who, 
married to a young officer, had ac- 
companied her husband in male dis- 
guise to Egypt. N. dispatched the 
husband to France, and lived openly 
with his mistress ; she occupied a 
handsome house, and was frequently 
to be seen riding at his side in a 
general's uniform. The next mistress 
o^ any prominence was the cantatrice 
Grassini, who attracted N.'s notice at 
Milan and for whoim a remunerative 
engagement was secured in Paris. 
This intimacy was at first well con- 
cealed, but later was discovered by 
the jealous Josephine. N.'s liaison 
with the actress Mme. Leverd is 
questionable; that with Mile. Georges 
certain. Other mistresses, their sway 
of varying but usually brief duration, 
were found among Josephine's ladies- 
in-waiting and lectrices, Mme. de 
Vaudey, Mile. Lacoste, Carlotta 
Gazzani, Mile. Guillebeau, and others. 
Of doubtful identity is the lady who 
bore N. a son in Aug. 1804 and 
was discovered in his company by 
Josephine. Anoither son, born in 
Dec. 1806, was the child of El^onore 
Denuelle, a former schoolfellow of his 
sister Caroline. The boy was named 
L^on (q-v.), and N. seems at one time 
to have intended him as his successor 
on the throne of France. The youth 
turned out a wastrel, but he lived to 
see his father's ashes brought tO' 
France and to receive a pension from 
Napoleon III., dying at Pontoise in 
1 881. Finally the Polish patriot 
Mme. Walewska, most faithful of 
N.'s loves, bore him a son (who 
was a well-known and leading figure 
under the Second Empire), and paid 
her fallen lover a brief visit in his 
captivity at Elba. 

Lowe, Sir Hudson (1769-1844).— 
An Irishman by birth, being the son 
of a surgeon, John Lowe. He en- 
tered his father's regiment at Gib- 
raltar in 1787, and experienced service 
in Corsica, Elba, and Portugal. He 
commanded a motley brigade of Corsi- 
can exiles at Minorca, who for want of 



283 



LOWENBERG 

a better name were styled the "Corsi- 
can Rang^ers," and at the head of these 
he went througih the Egyptian cam- 
paign of 1 800- 1. When war broke out 
with France in 1805 he once more re- 
cruited in Corsica, and With the brigade 
collected on that occasion assisted in 
the defence of Sicily. He helped to 
defend Capri against Murat, but with 
other oommanders he had perforce to 
evacuate the island, a circumstance 
which seems to have rankled in a 
mind never possessed of much gener- 
ous emotion to friend or enemy. Until 
his appointment as custodian of N. his 
progress does not call for any remark, 
consisting as it did of mere mechanical 
promotion. The regrettable act which 
placed such a person, unsuitable for 
the position by every circumstance of 
disposlition and training, as a virtual 
jailer over a man of such exalted and 
sensitive character as the Emperor can 
only be accounted for as an ebullition 
of malice on the part of the British 
government scarcely conceivable as 
emanating from men of even ordinary 
magnanimity — an act which must be 
considered as amomg the most de- 
signedly unchivalrous in history. (See 
St. Helena.) After the death of N. 
in 1 82 1 Lowe returned to England 
and received the "thanks" of George 
IV. He at first intended to prosecute 
O'Meara on the appearance of his 
book, but considered discretion the 
better part of valour. From 1825-30 
he commanded the forces in Ceylon, 
and in 1842 returned to the 50th regi- 
ment as colonel. He died in 1844. 
He appears to have been an officer of 
merely average ability, a man of little 
chivalry or tact, and hlis claim to gen- 
tility and polish appears very doubtful 
even in days when military men were 
not overburdened with refinement. 

Lowenberg, Battle of. -A battle 
of the Leipsic campaign, fought on 
21 Aug. 1813. When the French Army 
in Silesia was everywhere falling back 
before Bliicher, N. arrived in person at 
the head of his Guards and cavalry, 
and the retreat was immediately turned 
into an advance. Bliicher was com- 
pelled to fall back with a loss of nearly 
2,000, though the French Army had 
been considerably weakened during 
the previous days' fighting. 



LUNI^VILLE 

Lozier, Athanase Hyacinthe 
Bouvet de (1769-1825).— A general 
in the French Army ; was born in 
Paris. At the Revolution he followed 
the Bourbons into exile and served in 
Condi's army. He participated in the 
plot of Georges Cadoudal, and was 
captured with the other conspirators. 
He was sentenced to death, but was 
pardoned at the intervention of Caro- 
line Bonaparte, the wife of Murat. 
After four years' imprisonment he was 
transported. Under the Restoration 
he was created a marshal and governor 
of the Isle of Bourbon, but in 1818, for 
some reason or other, lost place and 
favour, though later was created a 
count. He met his death in a duel at 
Fontainebleau. The clergy refused to 
read the burial service over his body, 
and he was buried in the Jewish 
cemetery. In 1819 he had published 
a Memoire sur mon Administration de 
Bourhon. 

Lun^ville, Peace of.— The Peace 
of Luneville was signed by France and 
Austria on 9 Feb. 1801, marking the 
close of the Revolutionary Wars. The 
events which led to the conclusion of 
this treaty, so disastrous for Austria, 
so signal a triumph for Bonaparte, 
may be briefly enumerated thus : After 
her victory on the field of Marengo 
(14 June 1800) France was prepared 
to exact from Austria a treaty on 
Campo Formio lines, but Austria, 
desirous of peace though she was, 
was unable to meet the overtures of 
the conqueror, for she had already 
promised, in consideration of a sub- 
sidy from Britain, not to conclude a 
separate peace before i Feb. 1801. 
Temporizing, however, she sent two 
envoys to Paris, one of whom.. Count 
St. Julien, rashly let himself be in- 
veiigled into signing a convention, the 
terms of which were practically tJiose 
of the Treaty of Campo Formio. 
Austria, in disgust, broke off nego- 
tiations, but renewed them later. 
Joseph Bonaparte and Cobenzl, pleni- 
potentiaries of France and Austria 
respectively, met to deliberate at 
Luneville ; but Bonaparte was the 
real dictator of terms, and finding 
that Austria still hoped for the in- 
clusion of Britain in the peace he 
prepared for the renewal of hostilities. 



284 



LUN^VILLE 

At this juncture Cobenzl was instructed 
by his g-overnment to conclude a secret 
peace, not to be divulged till after 
I Feb. 1801, and also to stipulate the 
admission of a British representative 
to the deliberations, which were mean- 
while to be continued. France was will- 
ing- to be a party to the proposed secret 
treaty, but the admission of a British 
plenipotentiary she would not counte- 
nance. Neg^otiations were once more 
broken off and the countries plunged 
into war. The decisive victory of 
Hohenlinden followed (2 Dec. 1800), 
and Austria, crushed and crippled, and 
less than ever in a position to miake her 
own terms, was oblig-ed to sue for 
peace. On 25 Dec. Moreau gfranted 
the armistice of Steyer, on condition 
that Austria would treat without her 
British ally. Finally the treaty was 
sig^ned at Lun^ville on 9 Feb. 1801, 
Austria being" now released from her 
oblig^ations to Britain. 

The terms of the treaty were most 
favourable to France. Its principal 
provisions were: (i) The frontier of 
the Cisalpine Republic was to extend 
to the Adig-e (in the preceding" year 
Bonaparte had only pressed for the line 
of the Mincio) ; {2) France was to obtain 
all the German territories west of the 
Rhine, which thus became her bound- 
ary in all its length; (3) France was 
confirmed in her possession of Belg^ium 
and Luxemburg"; (4) Tuscany was to 
be erected into a king"dom (the King"- 
dom of Etruria) under Louis, Duke of 
Parma; (5) Pius VIL was confirmed 
in his rule of the Papal States. It 
will be seen, then, that the position 
of France was g"reatly improved by the 
Peace of Lun6ville. The extension of 
the frontier of the Cisalpine placed 
practically all the Italian lands west 
of the Adiig-e in the hands of France, 
for thoug-h that country was required 
I)y the terms of the treaty to g-uarantee 
the independence of the Cisalpine and 
Ligfurian as well as of the Swiss and 
Batavian Republics, such an obligation 
was a very elastic one in the hands 
of N. France's acquisition of Ger- 
man territory, again, crippled Austria 
in more ways than one, for in 
order to compensate the dispossessed 
princes it was necessary to secularize 
ecclesiastical lands on the right bank 



LYONS 

of the Rhine, and Austria, thus de- 
prived of the support of the spiritual 
princes, was overruled in the Diet by 
Prussia. Belgium became a part of 
France, sharing in her government 
and having the Code NapoUon im- 
po'sed. The rulers of Etruria (Tus- 
cany) and the Papal States were 
completely under the influence of N., 
and in the month following the sign- 
ing of the Peace of Luniville the King 
of Naples likewise surrendered to him 
by the Treaty of Florence {q.v.). 

Liitzen, Battle of (Leipsic [Cam- 
paign 2 May 1813).— Owing, perhaps, 
to insufficient scouting, this battle 
came as something of a surprise. The 
Russians and Prussians, numbering 
65,000, attacked N., with about 70,000 
men, on the night flank at Liitzen, near 
Leipsic. The French, however, im- 
mediately wheeled and endeavoured to 
turn the Allies' flank in their turn. 
After very severe fighting N. gained 
the victory, an empty one as it proved, 
for he was too weak in cavalry to 
follow up his advantage. Bliicher 
and Wittgenstein, who commanded 
the Allied forces, ordered a retreat 
beyond the Elbe, where a strong 
position was taken up in the Neu- 
stadt, Dresden. The losses were 
heavy on both sides, and the French 
lost five guns. 

Lyons, Commission meets at 
(1802).— This was a commission which 
met to discuss the details of the 
organization of the Cisalpine Re- 
public. N., as president over 454 
magistrates, was preparing to estab- 
lish French rule in the north of Italy. 
This was his real aim, but he made it 
appear as though he were carrying out 
the wishes of the people, who had sent 
agents to N. desiring him to appoint 
various officials to carry out the in- 
terests of the country. The members 
were chosen by N. himself, and he 
took good care that they were in- 
fluential men with leanings towards 
France. At the last sitting of the 
commission in 1802 Bonaparte pro- 
claimed that the word " Italian " 
should be substituted for that of 
"Cisalpine," while Count Melzi, the 
most eminent man in Lombardy, was 
nominated vice-president and had 
full power in N.'s absence. These 



285 



MACDONALD 

announcements were well received, it 
pleasing the Lombards well to have 
a man of their own nationality as 
governor. In one of his official 
speeches N. led the Italian people to 
understand that this convention was 
only a step towards restoring the 
absolute freedom of the country. 
Three years later, however, when 
the Empire was established in France, 
the complete subjection of Italy was 
brought about, though the northern 
provinces had their own laws and 
maintained a certain independence 
and dignity throughout all the changes 
which followed. 



M 



Macdonald, Etienne Jacques 
Joseph Alexandre, Duke of Taran- 

to (1765-1 840),-Marshal of France. 
One of the ablest of N.'s soldiers. 
Born at Sedan on 17 Nov. 1765, 
he was the son of Neil MacEachain, 
or Macdonald. His father at the 
time of the Jacobite rising in 
1745 was a parish schoolmaster in 
South Uist, an island in the Outer 
Hebrides, and though he did not 
actually bear arms in Prince Charles 
Edward's army, he befriended the 
Prince during the latter's wander- 
ings after Culloden. In consequence 
he had subsequently to leave Scotland 
and take refuge in France. He was 
a distant relation toi Flora Macdonald, 
and addressed her in a Gaelic poem 
which is still extant. 

Young Macdonald entered the 
French, Army in 1784, and on the 
advent of the Revolution, though 
most of the other officers in his 
regiment were royalists, he espoused 
the cause of the revolutionists. He 
distinguished himself at Jemappes, 
and thereafter, on refusing to desert 
to the Austrians with Dumouriez, to 
whom he had previously been an aide- 
de-camp, he was rewarded by being 
appointed to command the leading 
brigade in Pichegru's (q.v.) invasion 
of Holland. In 1798 he was made 
governor of the Papal States, and 
after defeating the King of Naples at 
Otricoli he completed the subjugation 
of the Neapolitan kingdom. In 1799, 
marching to North Italy to check the 



MACDONALD 

inroad of Suvorov, he sustained a 
severe reverse on the Trebbia, but a 
little later he achieved a great feat in 
leading his troops across the Splugen. 
In 1805, owing to his support of 
Moreau, he incurred the disfavour of 
N., but four years later, on the 
Emperor finding himself somewhat in 
need of competent officers, Macdonald 
was appointed to command the right 
wing of the army in Italy, then under 
Prince Eugene, and while acting in 
this capacity he crossed the Isonzo 
and compelled Laibaoh to capitulate. 

In 1809 Macdonald distinguished 
himself at Wagram and was made 
Marshal of France and Duke of 
Taranto; the following year he fought 
in the Spanish campaign; in 181 2 he 
commanded the left wing of the army 
for the invasiion of Russia; and in 
1 81 3 he held an important command in 
the Leipsic campaign, greatly distin- 
guishing himself at Liitzen and Baut- 
zen, but on 26 Aug. he was routed 
with great slaughter by Bliioher at 
the Katzbach. 

When N.'s fortunes began to wane, 
and many of his servants commenced 
to desert him, Macdonald remained 
loyal to his old master. Ultimately, 
however, perceiving that the Napo- 
leonic cause was hopeless, he was 
among those who advised the Em- 
peror to abdicate, while the latter on 
his part directed Macdonald to transfer 
bis allegiance to the new regime. He 
acted accordingly, and after the Re- 
storation he was made a peer of 
France, and also given the command 
of a military division. He took no 
part in the Hundred Days, and his 
later years were mainly occupied with 
political activities in the House of 
Peers, where he voted consistently as 
a moderate liberal. The Bourbons 
gave him many honours besides the 
above-mentioned, making himi a knight 
of the Order of St. Louis, and after- 
wards Chancellor of the Legion of 
Honour and major-general of the 
Royal Bodyguard. He died on 25 
Sept. 1840 at his country seat at 
Courcelles-le-Roii, and his death was 
widely mourned, for in an age when 
corruption was rife among officials 
of all grades he had shown himself 
throughout a man of singular in- 



286 



MAITLAND 

tegrity. (For particulars about Mac- 
donald's father see The Royal Stuarts 
in their Connection with the Arts, by 
Blaikie Murdoch ; for Macdonald him- 
self consult Evenements Militaire, by 
MathSas Dumas, Lettre sur la Cam- 
pagne du Macdonald, by S^gfur, and 
Recollections of Marshal Macdonald.) 
Maitland, Sir Frederick Lewis 
(1777-1839).— Rear - Admiral ; was 
bom at Rankeilour, Fife, and entered 
the navy at an early ag"e. In 1797 he 
served under Lord St. Vincent, a friend 
of his father, who was the means of 
promoting^ him first lieutenant of the 
Kingfisher, under Pierrepont. Mait- 
land distinguished himself lin an action 
with some French privateers and suc- 
ceeded Pierrepont in command of the 
Kingfisher. Unfortunately the vessel 
gfrounded and was wrecked off Lisbon, 
for which its commander was court- 
martialled. Subsequently, on his ac- 
quittal, he became fiag'-lieutenant to 
his old commander until 1799, when 
he was appointed to a ship of his own. 
In 1800 he accompanied Abercromby 
to Egypt, where he took part in the 
battle of Alexandria. For bis distin- 
guished conduct he was appointed 
commander of the frigates Dragon, 
Carfare and Loire successively. In 
1806, in command of the Emerald, he 
was sent to support Cochrane in the 
engagements in Aix Roads, and in 

1 81 3 he was stationed at Halifax, in 

1814 at Portsmouth, and in 1815 at 
Cork. At the latter port he was trans- 
ferred to the Bellerophon, which had 
seen service at Trafalgar, and to Mait- 
land as commander of that ship N. 
surrendered on 15 July 181 5. He died 
at sea in 1839. 

Malcolm, Sir Pulteney (1768- 
1838). — British admiral; was bom at 
Douglan, near Langholm, Dumfries- 
shlire. He entered the navy at the 
age of ten, in the Sybil, under his 
maternal uncle, Captain (afterwards 
Sir Thomas) Pasley, served in the 
West Indies, and recdved his first 
command in 1794. In 1798 he be- 
came flag-captain under Rear-Admiral 
Ramier, first in the Suffolk and later 
in the Victorious. Returning to Eng- 
land in the latter ship in 1803, he was, 
owing to the worn-out state of the 
vessel, oomi>elled to run her ashore 



MALET 

in the Tagus. He subsequently com- 
manded the Kent in the Mediterranean, 
and in the Donegal joined in Nelson's 
pursuit of the French fleet to the West 
Indies. He was absent from the battle 
of Trafalgar, his sJiip being refitted 
at Gibraltar when he heard that the 
French and Spanish were leaving 
Cadiz; but he sailed on 20 Oct., 
vi^ith the foreyard towing alongside, 
joined the British fleet three days 
later, and rendered important services 
to damaged ships. In 1816-17 he was 
commander-in-chief of the squadron 
which guarded St. Helena, became 
vice-admiral in 1821, was twice com- 
mander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, 
and was made G.C.M.G. in 1829 and 
G.C.B. in 1833. He married a niece 
of Admiral Lord Keith. Sir Pulteney 
had numerous lengthy interviews with 
Napoleon at St. Helena, and these 
are vividly reported in Lady Mal- 
colm's Diary of St. Helena, a volume 
of considerable value. Malcolm soon 
found cause of quarrel with Sir Hud- 
son Lowe, and was persona grata with 
Napoleon, though the latter spoke of 
himi on one occasion as a fool. 

Malet Conspiracy, The.— Was a 
plot to overthrow the imperial dynasty 
by proclaiming the death of the Em- 
peror during his absence from Paris. 
This daring scheme was first conceived 
in 1808, wihile N. was in Spain, and 
originated in the fertile brain of an 
obscure but exceedingly able man, 
named Malet, who had passed his early 
life in the army and had commanded 
a battalion at the commencement of 
the Revolution. In 181 2, during the 
Emperor's absence in Russia, the idea 
again occurred to Malet, and he forth- 
with took measures to carry it out. 
Although he happened to be serving 
a term of imprisonment at the time, 
two accomplices were ready to hand 
— Rateau, one of the guards where he 
was detained, and the Abb^ Lafou, a 
fellow-prisoner. Malet was well pre- 
pared. He had cleverly forged a 
decree of the senate which abolished 
the gx>vernment and appointed himself 
governor of Paris, while he had also 
provided himself with forged orders 
on the treasury, besides various false 
nominations to appointments. On the 
night of 22 Oct. , having escaped from 



287 



MALET 

his prison with oomparative ease, he 
donned the uniform of a g-eneral of 
brigade and presented himiself at the 
house of Soulier, colonel of the loth 
cohort, to whom he announced that N, 
had been killed before Moscow and 
that he himself was now g-overnor of 
Paris. By the aid of bis decree of the 
senate he speedily deceived Soulier, 
and ordered him to assemble the 
soldiers in the barracks under his 
command. Malet then placed him- 
self at the head of these troops and 
marched to the prison of La Force, 
where he liberated Generals Lahorie 
and Guidal, who had been imprisoned 
by order of the Emperor. The troops 
were now divided into three columns, 
commanded respectively by Malet, 
Lahorie, and Guidal, who set out in 
different directions to seize the im- 
portant posts in the city. Lahorie 
surprised Savary, the minister of 
police, in bed, and carried himi oiff to 
the prison of La Force, while Guidal 
treated Pasquier, the prefect of police, 
in like manner. Meantime the H6tel 
de Ville had been seized by Soulier, 
and Malet had not only occupied the 
Place Vendome but had obtained the 
command of the chief military posts 
in the city, while the bank, the trea- 
sury and the principal public oflfices 
were also under his control. To take 
pK>ssession of the office of the £tat- 
Major of Paris, which was the head- 
quarters of the military authority prac- 
tically over the whole of France, still 
remalined to be accomplished. But this 
comparatively simple task after what 
he had already achieved caused Malet' s 
undoing" ; for when he arrived at the 
office it so happened that an important 
official under the minister of police 
was at the time making certain in- 
quiries about one of bis prisoners, and 
he immediately recognized Malet, who 
had only a few hours previously been 
under his charge. Malet was at once 
arrested and the whole conspiracy ex- 
posed. On the following day Malet, 
Guidal, Lahorie, and eleven others — 
who hardly deserved their cruel fate — 
were shot. The Emperor was informed 
of this conspiracy during the retreat 
from Moscow, and it was hiis main 
reason for hastening his return to 
Paris. 



MARBOT 

Malo-Jaroslavitz (Moscow Cam- 
paign),— After a five weeks' occupation 
of Moscow N. decided that, rather 
than remain in Moscow, he would 
winter farther south in Lithuania. 
Near Malo-Jaroslavitz, however, he 
found large forces of Russians, and 
Prince Eugene's corps became engaged 
in a sanguinary conflict (24 Oct. 18 12) 
and suffered badly. The Russians won 
a strategical success and forced the 
French Army to abandon their south- 
erly line of retreat. The losses in the 
conflict were fairly even. 

Mantua, Siege of.— During N.'s 
Italian campaign this city, which 
was defended by the Austrians under 
General Canto d'Irles, was besieged^ 
by the French from 4 June to 
31 July 1796. N. was on that date 
forced to abandon the siege owing to 
the approach of an Austrian Army 
under Wiirmser, which successfully 
took several of his positions. After 
a brief campaign, during which 
Wiirmser' 9 troops were dispersed, 
the remainder of the Austrian Army 
with Wiirmser was shut up in the 
dity, which was again invested from 
18 Sept. until 2 Feb. of the following 
year. Wiirmser was obliged to sur- 
render after a gallant defence, but was 
allowed to retire to Austria with all 
his staff and 500 men, the remainder 
of the garrison — ^including 18,000 sick 
men — surrendering their arms. 

Marboeuf, Charles Louis Ren6, 
Comte de (1712-86).— French general, 
born at Rennes ; was sent to (Corsica 
to support the Genoese in 1764. He 
fought against Paoli and was made 
military commander of the island, 
w^here his rule was not unpopular. 
Marboeuf greatly favoured the Bona- 
parte family, securing the education 
of Joseph, of N. at Brienne, and the 
admission of Eliza to St. Cyr. His 
family fortunes were ruined by the 
Revolutiion, and his widow and son 
received pensions from N. He died 
at Bastia. 

iViarbot, Jean Bapiiste Antoine 
iViarcelin, Baron de (1782-1854).— 
French general, born at La Rivifere 
(Corr^ze), his father, Jean Antoine de 
Marbot, also being a general in the 
French Army. Enlisting in the Re- 
publican Army, he soon obtained a 



288 



MARBOT 

commission, and took part in the 
campaigns of Eylau and Friedland, 
while later he distingfuished himself 
in the Peninsular War. He served 
under N. in the Russian campalig-n of 
1 812, and in the following- year played 
a brilliiant part in the War of Libera- 
tion, being" severely wounded at Leip- 
sic. He joined N. on his return from 
Elba, and was wounded at Waterloo. 
When the Bourbons were restored to 
power Marbot was exiled. On his 
return lin 181 9, however, he not only 
reg-ained his military rank but was 
favoured with several lucrative ap- 
pointments, and in 1845 he became 
a member of the Chamber of Peers. 
In 1848 he withdrew from public life, 
and died at Paris six years later. In 
the pag-es of his Memoirs, a precis 
of which is appended, we have the 
view of N. conceived by a professional 
soldier. 

Memoirs. — 'This officer in his 
Memoirs had the opportunity of be- 
holding' the subject of his sketch in 
the heat of battle and at some of the 
most critical moments of his career. 
In many instances he was broug"ht into 
close and intimate touch with N., and 
his anecdotes of the Emperor are per- 
haps the most racy of the many that 
exist. At the same time his plicture 
is not sharply drawn, although on the 
other hand it is not a mere photo- 
g-raph. The haziness is due to lack 
of inspiration, and althougfh Marbot 
was intimate with N. we do not seem 
to know the gfreat leader any better 
after reading- hljs book. Yet the work 
has attained an extraordinary popu- 
larity, and this may be accounted for 
by the circumstance that the portraits 
of many of N.'s marshals are drawn 
with lifelike effect. There is also a 
g^reat deal of the picturesqueness and 
g-lamour of war running- throug-h the 
work. Like many successful books, 
too, it is highly egotistic. Indeed, 
Marbot is the real hero of his own 
book : whenever he is present himself 
at an engagement, or whenever he is 
the centre of an occasion, the reader 
obtains great insight, and vivid clarity 
of descriiption is afforded him; but 
whenever Marbot is absent the mist 
gathers. 

The author begins his experiences 



MARBOT 

with the Terror. The revolution at 
the college of Sor^ze, the military 
school to which he was sent as a boy, 
merely took the form of ceasing to 
address the masters as "monsieur." 
There is indeed little interest in this 
part of the Memoirs, and we are 
not engrossed until we come to young 
Marbot's first sight of N. at Lyons. 
N. was supposed at that time to be 
in Egypt : as a matter of fact he was 
rushing to Paris in response to a sum- 
mons from the Abbd Sieyfes. People 
were dancing in the open spaces, and 
the place rang with cries of " Hurrah 
for Bonaparte ! He will save the 
country." They had, indeed, given 
General Bonaparte the apartments, 
ordered a week before for Marbot's 
father, who had accompanied him to 
Lyons. General Marbot p^re received 
this news calmly enough, but his 
courier was not sO' minded, and raised 
what the author calls the "devil's own 
row" on learning that his master's 
apartments had been given to N. So 
great was the uproar, in fact, that N. 
himself ordered one of his officers to 
goi down at once and offer General 
Marbot to share his lodging with him 
in soldier fashion, but by this time the 
general's carriage had left, so N. 
started at once on foot in order to 
go and express his regard in person. 
Father and son had entered upon .the 
occupation of their new rooms when 
N. was announced. He embraced 
Marbot's father, who received him. 
courteously but coldly, and took him 
intoi his bedroom, where they con- 
ferred together for more than an 
hour. On returning intoi the sitting- 
room they introduced to each other 
the members of their respective staffs. 
Among N.'s were Lannes, Murat, and 
Berthier. N. asked young Marbot 
for news of his mother, and compli- 
mented him in a kind manner in 
having taken up a military career so 
young. "Then," says the memoirist, 
"gently pinching my ear, the flatter- 
ing caress which he always employed 
to persons with whom he was pleased, 
he said, addressing my father, ' He 
will be a second General Marbot some 
day. ' " The Marbots desired to quit 
Lyons next day, but could not because 
all the post-horses in the town had 



289 



MARBOT 

been engagfed for N. "There is the 
beginning of omnipotence," prophetic- 
ally announced the author's father. 

N.'s military methods are often 
illuminated by passages of exceeding 
value; thus Marbot says that N., with 
all his power, never knew accurately 
the number of combatants which, he 
had at his disposal on the day of 
battle. " Now lit befell that, while we 
were staying at Brunn, the Emperor, 
on one of the rounds which he was 
incessantly making to> visit the posi- 
tions of the different divisions, noticed 
the mounted chasseurs of the guard 
marching to take up new lines. He 
was particularly fond of this regiment, 
the nucleus of which was foirmed by 
his Guides of Italy and Egypt. His 
trained eye could judge very correctly 
the strength of a column, and finding 
this one very short of its number he 
took a little notebook from his pocket 
and, after consulting it, sent for 
General IMoriand, colonel of the 
mounted chasseurs of the guard, and 
said to him in a severe tone : ' The 
strength of your regiment is entered 
on my notes at twelve hundred com- 
batants, and although you have not 
yet been engaged with the enemy you 
have not more than eight hundred 
troopers there. What has become of 
the rest? ' General Morland, at fight- 
ing an excellent and very brave officer, 
but not g^ifted with the faculty of ready 
reply, was taken aback, and answered, 
in his Alsatian French, that only a 
very small number of men were miss- 
ing. The EmperoiT maintained that 
there were close upon four hundred 
short, and to clear the matter up he 
determined to have them counted on 
the spot ; but knowing that Morland 
was much liked by his staff, and being 
afraid of what their good nature might 
do, he thought that it would be safer 
lif he took an officer who belonged 
neither to his household nor to the 
guard, and, catching sight of me, he 
ordered me to count the chasseurs 
and to come and report their number 
to him in person. Having said this, 
he galloped off. I began my operation, 
which was all the more easy that the 
troopers were marching at a walk 
and in fours." Marbot counted the 
chasseurs and found them eighty short 



MARBOT 

— at least, he said so to save the face 
of General Morland, and for some 
days afterwards he was in great 
dread of N.'s wrath in case he 
should discover the falsehood he had 
told him. But if the Emperor could 
be deceived thus, he could also de- 
ceive, as may be seen in the following 
anecdote. The King of Prussia was 
wavering between peace and war, and 
had sent Haugw'itz on a diplomatic 
mission to the French Army to see 
how things were going with it. It 
was just after the battle of Bregenz, 
in which the Army of Jellachichi had 
been beaten and captured, and the 
Emperor desired that the King of 
Prussia should know of bis decisive 
victory as soon as possible. Accord- 
ingly he employed the following 
strategy : 

" Duroc, the marshal of the house- 
hold, after giving us notice of what 
we were expected to do, had all the 
Austrian colours which Massy and I 
had brought from Bregenz replaced 
privately in the quarters which we 
were occupying. So'me hours after- 
wards, when the Emperor was talk- 
ing in his study with Count von 
Haugwitz, we repeated the ceremony 
of presentation in precisely the same 
manner as the first time. The Em- 
peror, on hearing music in the court 
of his house, feigned astonishment, 
and went to the window, followed by 
the ambassador. Seeing the trophies 
borne by the sergeants, he called the 
aides-de-camp of Marshal Augereau, 
who were coming to bring the Em- 
peror the colours of Jellachich's 
Austrian army which had been cap- 
tured at Bregenz. We were ordered 
to enter, and there, without winking, 
and as if he had never seen us, Napo^- 
leon received the letter of Augereau, 
which had been sealed up, and read 
it, although he had known the con- 
tents for four days. Then he ques- 
tioned us, making us enter into 
minutest details. Duroc had cau- 
tioned us to speak loud, because the 
Prussian ambassador was a little deaf. 
This was unlucky for my comrade and 
superior. Massy, since he had lost his 
voice and could hardly speak ; so it 
was I who had to answer the Emperor, 
and seeing his plan, I depicted in the 



290 



MARBOT 

most vivid colours the defeat of the 
Austriians, their dejection, and the en- 
thusiasm of the French troops. Then, 
presenting" the trophies one after 
another, I named all the regiments 
to which they had belonged, laying 
especial stress upon two, the capture of 
which was likely to produce the greatest 
effect upon the Prussian ambassador. 
'Here,' said I, 'are the colours of 
the Emperor of Austria's own regi- 
ment of infantry ; there is the stan- 
dard of his brother, the Archduke 
Charles's Uhlans.' Napoleon's eyes 
sparkled, and seemed to say, ' Well 
done, young man. ' Then he dismissed 
us, and as we went out we heard him 
say to the ambassador, ' You see, 
Count, my armies are winning at all 
points ; the Austrian Army is anni- 
hilated, and very soon the Russian 
Army will be so.' Von Haugwitz 
appeared greatly upset, and as soon 
as we were out of the room Duroc 
said to me, ' This evening the diplomat 
will write to Berlin to inform^ his 
Government of the destruction of 
Jellachich's army. This will some- 
what calm the minds of those who 
are keen for war with us, and will 
give the King of Prussia fresh reasons 
for temporizing, w^hich is what the 
Emperor ardently desires.' 

"The comedy having been played, 
the Emperor wished to get rid of an 
awkward witness who might report 
the positions of his army, and so 
hinted to the ambassador that to 
stay between two armies all ready 
for an engagement might be a little 
unsafe for him. He bade him go 
to Vienna to M. de Talleyrand, his 
Minister for Foreign Affairs — advice 
which Count von Haugwitz followed 
that same evening*. The next day the 
Emperor said nothing to us about 
yesterday's performance, but wishing, 
no doubt, to evince his satisfaction at 
the way in which we had seized his 
idea, he asked tenderly after Major 
Massy's cold, and pinched my ear, 
which was with him a sort of caress." 

The battle of Austerlitz is graphic- 
ally described. The terrific ferocity 
shown on the French side especially 
is truthfully pictured. The guards 
charged into the Noble Guard of 
Russia, composed of the most brilliant 



MARBOT 

of the young Russian nobility, howl- 
ing, "We will give the ladies of St. 
Petersburg- something- to cry for ! " 
as they passed their sabres throug-h 
the Russians' bodies; and Mustapha, 
a fierce Mameluke who had chased 
the Grand Duke Constantine, shouted 
in the hearing of the Emperor in his 
broken French : " Ah ! if me catch 
Prince Constantine, me cut him head 
off and bring it to Emperor!" N., 
disgusted, replied: "Will you hold 
your tongue, you savage ! ' ' Many a 
stricken field, of which we have not 
sufficient space to speak, is limned in 
these Memoirs. A picture which stands 
out clearly, however, is a call made 
by the Emperor upon the Queen of 
Prussia. "Their interview," says 
Marbot, "shorwed no traces of their 
mutual hatred. Napoleon was respect- 
ful and attentive, the Queen gracious 
and disposed to captivate her former 
enemy. She had all need to do so, 
being well aware that the treaty of 
peace created, under the title of 
Kingdo^m of Westphalia, a new state 
w^hose territory was to be contributed 
by electoral Hesse and Prussia." The 
unfortunate Queen could not reconcile 
herself to the loss of Magdeburg-, the 
retaining of which would be the Prus- 
sians' safeguard, but the Emperor de- 
sired to add that place to the new state 
of Westphalia, of which his brother 
Jerome was to be king. During din- 
ner the Queen tried every possible 
method to inveigle the conqueror into 
giving up Magdeburg, and to change 
the subject N. praised a superb rose 
which she was wearing. "The story 
goes that she said : ' Will your Majestj' 
have this rose in exchange for Magde- 
burg? ' Perhaps it would be chival- 
rous to accept, but the Emperor was 
too practical a man to let himself be 
caught by a Rretty offer, and it is 
averred that while praising- the beauty 
of the rose and of the hand w^hich 
offered it, he did not take the flower. 
The Queen's eyes filled with tears, but 
the victor affected not to perceive it."* 
An interesting incident lis that which 
recounts how N. was wounded during" 
the attack on Ratisbon. Lannes was 
chatting- with the Emperor when a 
* For a slightly dififerent version of this story 
see Louise, p. 281. 



291 



MARBOT 

bullet, probably fired from' a Tyrolese 
rifle, struck N. on the right ankle. 
The pain was at first so sharp that 
the Emperor had to lean upon Lannes, 
but Dr. Larrey, who quickly arrived, 
declared that the wound was trifling-. 
The report that the Emperor bad been 
wounded spread through the army like 
w'ildfire, and in a moment he was sur- 
rounded by thousands of men in spite 
of the fire which the enemy's guns con- 
centrated on the group. But to prove 
that lie was not badly hurt, N. mounted 
his horse the instant his wound was 
dressed and rode down the front of the 
whole line amid loud cheering. 

But it is not as a warrior alone that 
the Emperor is drawn on these pages. 
Accounts of how he mingled with the 
throng in masked balls are given. One 
incident at a fancy-dress ball is notable. 
The Emperor retired to a private 
apartment and begged Marbot tO' bring 
him a glass of cold water. Going to 
the nearest buffet, he filled a glass with 
iced water, and was about to carry it 
to the room where, N. was when he 
was accosted by two tall men in Scotch 
costume, one of whom whispered in his 
ear : " Can Major Marbot answer for 
the harmlessness of that water? " 
These were probably some of the police 
agents who were distributed about the 
house in various disguises to look after 
the Emperor. On bringing the refresh- 
ment to the Emperor, toi Marbot 's sur- 
prise, he swallowed only a mouthful, 
and dipping handkerchiefs into the 
liquid pressed one on the nape of his 
neck and held the other to his face, 
repeating, "Ah! that's good, that's 
good ! " N. went on to tell Marbot 
that he lintended to give him a notable 
proof of his satisfaction at his be- 
haviour at Ratisbon and the crossing 
of the Danube, when a partner whom 
Marbot had left abruptly entered the 
room shriUy complaining that he had 
deserted her. The lady, it appeared, 
desired to seek out the Emperor to 
request him to double her pension, and, 
without noticing who was in the room, 
she went on to say that various persons 
had attempted to blacken her reputa- 
tion. But, continued she, what about 
N.'s sister? What about himself? 
They said her husband had stolen, but 
had not N. himself stolen in Italy, 



MARENGO 

Egypt, everywhere? All this time the 
Emperor sat motionless. Poor Marbot 
says that he would willingly have 
changed his position for a cavalry 
charge or a storming party. The 
Emperor replaced his mask, and 
whispered to Marbot that he was 
certain that he — Marbot — had never 
met the lady before that day, at the 
same time telling him to send her off. 
He then took Duroc's arm and re- 
tired. The lady, thinking she recog- 
nized them, wanted to dart after them, 
and Marbot attempted to restrain her 
and sdized her by the skirt, which tore 
at the waist with a loud crack. For 
this he was reproached bitterly, in an- 
swer to which he made a low bow and 
went off as quickly as he could, the 
lady calling after him as he retired to 
bring her some pins. A few hours 
afterwards she received orders to leave 
Paris. 

There are vivid descriptions of 
operaticns of the Russian campaign, 
of the readiness of the people of 
France to place themselves at the 
mercy of their Emperor, of the de- 
feat at Leipsic, and of the last days. 
Throughout the book there is no re- 
probation of N.'s methods or charac- 
ter. Marbot seems free from any 
sense of the horrors of war ; himself 
the son of a soldier, he seems to have 
possessed a soldier's heart, and it was 
perhaps natural that he regarded the 
scenes he describes as incidental to his 
profession. 

MarcKand, Louis (1792-1876).— 
First valet to N. at Longwood and 
an executor under his will. He re- 
mained with the Emperor throughout 
his captivity, and returned for the ex- 
humation in 1840. In 1823 he married 
the daughter of General Brayer, and 
in 1869 was created a count of the 
empire. His mother had been nurse 
to the King of Rome. 

Marengo. — The crown of N. 's 
Italian campaig'n of 1800. Believing 
that the Austriians would offer no 
resistance, N. seriously depleted his 
army by providing divisions to impede 
their expected retreat, and he conse- 
quently found himself upon the field 
of Marengo at the head of only 30,000 
men, facing a force of over 40,000 
Austrians under Melas. Things went 



292 



MARET 

badly for N,, and practically the whole 
of the French Army was lin retreat 
when the arrival of Desaix with his 
division shed a g^leam of hope upon 
the vanquished. Desaix advised the 
use of artillery, which unsteadied 
the Austrian grenadiers, and while 
his men used their musketry with 
great effect Kellermann's heavy 
cavalry dashed on the enemy's flank. 
The Austrian column was cut lin two, 
and a panic seized the erstwhile vic- 
tors, whose retreat rapidly became a 
rout. The honours of this battle lie 
with Desaix and Kellermann, who 
undoubtedly saved the day, but the 
former paid dearly for his victory, 
having laSd down his life upon the 
battlefield. See Italian Campaigns. 

Maret, Hugues-Bernard, Due de 
Bassano (1763-1839).— French states- 
man ; was born on 22 July 1763 at 
Dijon, the son of a well-known local 
physician. Circumstances led him to 
take up the study of law, and for 
some time he was under M. Bou- 
chaut, the eminent professor of 
natural and national law. Following 
out his chosen profession, he became 
an advocate at the King's Council at 
Paris, but ere long, being greatly in- 
fluenced by the ideas of the Revolu- 
tion, his career was changed. He 
took down the debates of the national 
assembly, at first wlith no idea of 
publishing them, but as the speeches 
aroused much public interest he, with 
M6jean, printed them under the title 
of the Bulletin de VAssembUe. This 
venture proved a very successful one ; 
so much so that when Panckoucke, 
the publicist, conceived the idea of 
the Moniteur he persuaded Maret to 
join his staff and merge the Bulletin 
in this larger paper, which became 
well known for its unbiased and 
correct views. 

In his political opinions Maret was 
a moderate at this time, and in 1792 
he entered the office of the ministry 
of foreign affairs, where his influence 
was of a steadying character. To- 
wards the end of that year he was 
sent to London ow a diplomatic mis- 
sion under Chauvelin, the object of 
which was a treaty with Britain. For 
some time he entertained hopes of suc- 
cess, but after the execution of Louis 



MARET 

XVI. and the embargo' on British ves- 
sels the diploimats were requested to 
leave London. Maret was then made 
ambassador of the French Republic at 
Naples, but on his way thither With 
De S6monville was taken prisoner by 
the Austrians. After some thirty 
months* confinement, and towards the 
end of 1795, he and De Sdmonville 
were exchanged for the daughter of 
Louis XVI., who had been a prisoner. 
Maret returned to Paris and devoted 
himself to journalism, and in 1797 
he was appointed one of the com- 
missioners to negotiate a peace with 
Britain. He therefore went to Lille, 
where the representatives were to 
meet, but the victory of the Jacobins 
in Sept. 1797 destroyed all hopes of 
a peaceful issue. About this time, 
greatly owing to N.'s victories, he 
was the recipient of 150,000 francs 
— as indemnity for the years he had 
suffered imprisonment. 

On N.'s return from Egypt in 1799 
Maret threw in his lot with Bona- 
parte's party, and became one of the 
First Consul's secretaries and later 
secretary of state. Maret 's history 
now became identified with that of 
N., to whom he proved a valuable 
servant. He was a good admini- 
strator, sensible, industrious, discreet 
and indefatigable, With a wide know- 
ledge of men and business, and his 
devotion to his master ensured the 
favour of the Emperor. As Fouohd 
said, he saw only with the eyes 
and heard only with the ears of his 
master, and he discharged all duties 
laid upon him, from the lowest to 
the highest, with the utmost readi- 
ness. The Moniteur, which was the 
official journal, was under his charge. 
He accompanied N. even on the battle- 
field, and it was a saying of the latter 
that not a shot was fired without Maret 
ha\'ing something to do with it. He 
took part in the making of the new 
constitutions for the Batavian and 
Italian republics, and later that de- 
stined for Spain. In 1804 he was 
appointed minister, in 1807 he was 
made count, and iin 1809 Due de 
Bassano. The last-named honour 
was conferred upon him as N.'s re- 
cognition of his great labours, espe- 
cially in connexion with the many 



293 



MARGADEL 

treaties of that time. Maret never 
swerved in his loyalty to his chief, 
and even attempted to defend the 
unworthy tactics with whiich N. made 
himself master of the destinies of 
Spain. 

Maret was in favour of the Em- 
peror's alliance with the Archduchess 
Marie Louise of Austria, which was 
effected in 1810. The followingf year 
he became Champagny's successor in 
the ministry of foreign affairs, and 
concluded the treaties with Austria 
and Prussia which preceded the 
Russian campaign in 181 2. During 
both the 1 81 2 and the 181 3 cam- 
paigns he was with N., but at the 
end of the latter he was superseded 
in the foreign office by Caulaincourt 
(q.v.), who was thought to be more 
devoted to the cause of peace. 
Maret, however, continued to act as 
private secretary to N. during the 
campaigns of 181 4 and 181 5, and 
ministered to his wants up to> the 
very moment of his departure for 
Elba. He was believed by some to 
have assisted N. in his escape from 
Elba, but N. stated at St. Helena 
that he knew nothing* about it. 
During the Hundred Days Maret 
held the office of minister of the in- 
terior and secretary of state, and he 
was salid to have expedited the re- 
lease of the Due d'Angoul^me. Even! 
this service to the Bourbons, however, 
did not save him from exile on the 
second Restoration, and he retired to 
Gratz, in Styria, where he gave up his 
time to literature and the educatlion of 
his children. He was allowed to return 
to France in 1820, and in 1830 Louis 
Philippe made him a peer of France. 
He died in 1839 ^^ Paris. 

Maret was one of N.'s hardest 
workers and most faithful servants, 
but he carried his devotlion too far, 
and in so doing, it was believed by 
some, exposed the real linterestsi of 
France to danger. Baron Ernouf, in 
his book, Maret, Due de Bassano, 
does not, however, agree with this 
v5ew. 

Margadel, Chevalier Charles 
Nicolas Joubert de.— Was shot by 
order of N. on 19 Nov. 1800, the 
charge of which he was accused 
being that of concealing arms and 



MARIE 

of robbing a courier taking dis- 
patches from Paris. It is thought 
that the promp'titude with which he 
was executed was N.'s method of in- 
timidating other Chouan conspirators 
in Paris. 

Marie Louise (1791-1847). — Em- 
press of the French, second wife of 
Napoleon L ; was the daughter of the 
Emperor Francis of Austria. She was 
born at Vienna and educated lin the 
stately etiquette of the Austrian court. 
When the divorce from Josephine had 
been decided upon N. made overtures 
for her hand, and his marriage to her 
took place by proxy at Vienna on 
12 March 1810. Caroline Murat was 
sent to escort the new Empress to 
France, and the meeting-place with 
N. was to be Compi^gne ; but the Em- 
peror pushed on to Soissons, where he 
entered his bride's carriiage with some 
precipitatlion, to be received with a 
flattering remark on the inadequacy 
of the picture of him which she had 
already seen. The religious ceremony 
took place at Paris in Apriil, and the 
honeymoon was spent at Compiifegne. 
The Duchess of Montebello, widow 
of the gallant Lannes, was appointed 
lady-in-waiting to the new Empress, 
the lady of the beddhamber being the 
Countess de Lugay. The bride was 
tall, fair, blue-eyed and finely formed. 
Her manners were amiable, but she 
lacked, and never acquired, the inde- 
finable charm of the Creole, Josephine ; 
nor did she ever succeed in aohievTmg 
the great popularity her predecessor 
had enjoyed. N. was, however, more 
than satisfied .with his bride. As re- 
gards her feelings for him, they were 
a mixture of respect and fear, but it is 
doubtful if she ever had for him the 
slightest love. The birth of the much- 
longed-for son and heir, the King of 
Rome (q-v.), took place on 20 March 
181 1. The life of the Empress was for 
some time in serious danger, and N., 
advised of the situation by the accou- 
cheur, Dubois, emphatically exhorted 
him to save the mother even if it should 
prove necessary to sacrlifice to her the 
child. Marie Louise accompanied N. 
to Dresden in the following year and 
was a figure in the brilliant pageant 
there ; but she took no part in politics, 
and lived in a complete detachment 



294 



MARMONT 

from affairs of state. In 1813 she was 
appointed regfent by N., and on the 
advance of the Allies towards Paris 
in 1814 retired with the Kingf of Rome 
to Blois. Thenoe, under thei escort of 
the Count de Neipperg-, she made her 
way with her child to Vienna, and 
made noi reply to the urgent and re- 
peated demands of N. that she should 
join him in Elba. She remained at the 
court of her father during- the Hundred 
Days, and iin 181 6, larg-ely owing- to 
the interest and support of the Tsar 
Alexander, was g-ranted the Duchies 
of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, 
which she ruled with some address. 
The Count de Neipperg- was hence- 
forth her constant companion, and 
about the time of N.'s death she 
bore him a natural son. Later she 
contracted with himi a morgfanatic 
marriag-e, of which three more chil- 
dren were the issue. Marie Louise 
died at Vienna in 1847. 

Marmont, Auguste Frederic 
Louis Viesse de, Due de Ragusa 
(1774 - 1852). — French marshal, son of 
an army officer with revolutiomary 
sympathies; was born at Chatillon- 
sur-Seine on 20 July 1774. He was 
well educated with a view to his en- 
tering the military service, and while 
at Dijon met N. Later, at Toulon, 
this acquaintanceship became friend- 
ship, and as aide-de-camp he accom- 
panied Bonaparte to Italy and Egfypt. 
During- the former campaign he so 
conducted himself that N. honoured 
him by sending- him to Paris with the 
standards captured from the Austriians. 
After the coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire 
Marmont was put in oharg^e of the 
artillery being" prepared for the second 
Italian expedition, and for his able 
command of this branch of the service 
at Mareng-o he was given the rank of 
general of division. He was made 
inspector-general of artillery in 1801, 
and appointed grand officer of the 
Legion of Honour in 1804. The fol- 
lowing year he was ordered to Dal- 
matia, and occupied Ragusa, from 
which he afterwards took his title. 
For five years he held the post of 
gxwernor there, which position he filled 
worthily, being still remembered for 
his public works. In 1809 he greatly 
distinguished himself at Wagram and 



MARMONT 

Znaim, winnling on the latter field a 
marshal's baton. In the following 
year he superseded Mass^na in Spain, 
and added to his fame by the able way 
in which he managed his troops. At 
Salamanca, however, he was defeated 
by Wellington, and a severe wound 
compelled him to return to France. 
At Liitzen, Bautzen, and Dresden he 
commanded an army cotrlps, with 
which he also took part in the 1814 
campaign up to the last battle — that 
of Paris. 

Now came the events which have 
caused Marmont's name to be exe- 
crated by all his honourable country- 
men, and for which he has never been 
forgiven. At Essonne, with 20,000 men 
under him, he wrote to the Tsar : " I 
am ready to leave, with my troops, 
the army of the Emperor Napoleon 
on the following conditions, of 
which I demand from you a writ- 
ten guarantee. ..." N., unknow- 
ing, still trusted his erstwhile friend 
and faithful servant, but Marmont, 
vain and false, and heeding not this 
confidence, betrayed his Emperor ; and 
his men, not fully understanding what 
they did, walked intoi the Austrian 
lines and were taken prisoners, thus 
depriving N. of all chance of suc- 
cess. Of this act N. said sorrow- 
fully : " Marmont me porte le dernier 
coup." By the Bourbons Marmont 
was loaded with honours, but he was 
always distrusted. At the revolution 
of 1830 he was the major-general in 
command of the guard on duty in 
July ; he was ordered to put down 
any insurrections, but he was out- 
matched, and authorities differ as to 
whether he had not agalin acted the 
part of Judas. However that may be, 
he accompanied his king into exile, 
and never again returned to France. 
After some wandering he settled in 
Vienna, and for a time was tutor to 
N.'s son, the Duke of Reichistadt. He 
died in Venicei on 2 March 1852. Of 
Marmont's military ability there is no 
doubt, but in his M&moires, which pro- 
vide a valuable history of his time, we 
see plainly the egoist who believed 
himself unappreciated and unre- 
warded, and it is possible that his 
treachery originated in this blind 
self-seeking. 



295 



MARSHALS 

Marshals of France created by 

Napoleon.— A ugereau, Due de Cas- 
tigldone. Born 1757; died 1816, 

Bemadotte, Prince de Ponte Corvo. 
Born 1764; died 1844. 

Berthlier, Prince de Neufchatel, 
Prince de Wagram. Chief of the 
Staff. Born 1753 ; assassinated or 
committed suicide 181 5. 

Bessi^res, Due d'Istria. Com- 
mander of the Old Guard. Born 
1768; killed at Lutzen 1813. 

Bnine. Born 1763; murdered at 
Avignon 181 5. 

Davout, Due d'Auerstadt, Prince 
d'Eckmiihl, Born 1770; died 1823. 

Exelmans, Comte. Born 1775 5 died 
from accident 1852. 

Grouchy, Marquis de. Born 1766; 
died 1847. 

Jourdan, Comte. Born 1762; died 
1833- 

Kellermann, Due de Valmy. Born 
1735 > died 1820. 

Lannes, Due de MontebeUo. Born 
1769; killed at Aspern-Essling 1809. 

Lefebvre, Due de Danzig. Born 
1755; died 1820. 

Macdonald, Due de Taranto. Born 
1765 ; died 1840. 

Marmont, Due de Ragfusa. Born 
1774; died 1852. 

Massena, Due de Rivoli, Prince 
d'Essling. Born 1758; died 1817. 

Moncey, Due de Conegliano. Born 
1754; died 1842. 

Mortier, Due de Treviso, Born 
1768; assassinated 1835. 

Murat, Grand Due de Berg, King of 
Naples. Born 1771 ; executed 181 5. 

Ney, Due d'Elchingen, Prince de la 
Moskwa. Born 1769; executed 181 5. 

Oudinot, Due de Reggio. Born 
1767 ; died 1847. 

Perignon, Dominique Catherine, 
Marquis de. Born 1754 ; died 1818. 

Poniatowski, Prince Josef Anton. 
Born 1763; drowned 1813. 

S^rurier, Comte. Born 1742 ; died 
1819. 

Soult, Due de Dalmatla. Born 
1769; died 1 85 1. 

St. Cyr, Marquis de. Bom 1764; 
died 1830. 

Suchet, Due d'AIbufera. Born 
1770; diied 1826. 

Victor, Due de Belluno. Born 1764; 
died 1841. 



MASSiNA 

Massena, Anclr6, Due de Rivoli. 
Prince d'Essling (1758-1817.)— One 

of the ablest of N.'s marshals; was 
born at Nice on 6 May 1758, and was 
the son of a wine-seller, probably of 
Jewish origin. He went to sea as 
a cabin-boy, but abandoned the life, 
and in 1775 enlisted in the Royal 
Italian regiment. He soon rose to 
non-commissioned rank, but his humble 
parentage prevented his obtaining a 
commission; so in 1789 be quitted the 
army, married and settled down in his 
native town. On the outbreak of war 
in 1 791 he joined the volunteers of the 
Var, and speedily attained the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel through his know- 
ledge of drill and the suffrages of bis 
men. His familiarity with the Apen- 
nines country proved so useful that 
in 1793 he had attained the rank of 
general of division, and won the 
battle of Saorgio in Aug. 1794, cap- 
turing ninety guns. Success followed 
success, and his share in the victory 
of Loano over the Austrians and Sar- 
dinians on 23 Nov. 1795 was not the 
least of his victories. In N.'s Italian 
campaign (1796-97) Massena was a 
general of division, every suooeeding 
battle illustrating his tactical genius 
and bis ability as ai leader of men. 
From the crowning victory of Rivoli 
he afterwards took his title. In the 
year following the campaign he was 
placed in command of the Army of 
Rome — a. post which he lost through 
the action of Berthier. He was then 
placed in chiarge of the army in Swit- 
zerland which served as a link between 
Moreau's forces in Germany and those 
in, Italy under Joubert. In this com- 
mand he displayed great powers of 
initiative in his struggles with the 
Archduke Charles and Suvarov. After 
holding his own against the Archduke 
he left Soult to face the Austrians 
and turned upon Korsakov at Zurich, 
where on 26 Sept. 1799 he defeated 
the Russian general, taking 5,000 
prisoners and 200 guns. His reputa- 
tion now equalled that of N., but he 
was a keen republican, and his am- 
bitions were bounded by the desire 
for good living and the amassing of 
money. N. as First Consul dispatched 
him to Genoa to command the remnant 
of the Army of Italy, and he strenu- 



296 



MASS^NA 

ously defended that city to the last 
extremity, thus permitting N. the suc- 
cess at Mareng-o. Betaking- himself to 
Paris, he became a memiber of the 
Corps L^g^islatif in 1803, and 'in the 
following- year was made one of the 
first marshals in France, being after- 
wards decorated with the g^rand eagle 
of the Legion of Honour. On N.'s 
deciding to advance through Germany 
with the grande armie, Massena was 
sent to Italy to keep the Archduke 
Charles in check there. This he suc- 
ceeded in doing until, learning of the 
surrender of Ulm, he gave him battle 
on 30 Oct. and signally defeated him 
at Caldiero. A little later he took part 
in placing Joseph Bonaparte on the 
throne of Naples. N. sent for him 
to Poland, where in 1808 he was made 
Duke of Rivoli. In the same year he 
lost the sight of an eye during a shoot- 
ing party through the inadvertence of 
his old enemy, Berthier. During the 
campaign of 1809 he rendered signal 
service at Landshut and Eckmiihl, and 
undoubtedly saved the day at Aspern- 
Essling. He was created Prince of 
Essling. Later he directed the opera- 
tions of the left wing at Wagram, 
although seriously indisposed. He 
then proceeded to Spain to confront 
the English, his comparative failure 
against whom will be found fully dealt 
with in the article Peninsular War. 
In this campaign he was unfortunate 
in his subordinates — Ney, Regnier, and 
Junot — ^whom he accused of frequent 
disobediienoe. His retreat was little 
short of a disaster, but by sheer force 
of discipline he kept the army together. 
When he returned to France his pres- 
tige had fled, and lit is said that he 
made offers to Fouch^ and what was 
left of the republican party. He was 
appointed territorial commandant at 
Marseilles, a post in which he had 
practically no chance of action against 
the government. On the second Bour- 
bon restoration he was summoned to 
sit on the court-martial which tried 
Ney, but refused to do so. For this he 
wa.g attacked by the royalists, and 
the troubles he now found himself 
in sooffi ended his life. He died on 
4 April 1 81 7, and was interred at 
P^re-la-Chaise. 

Although destitute of the higher 



MEDELLIN 

imagination which makes a great sol- 
dier, although badly educated and lazy, 
Massena was one of the greatest dis- 
ciplinarians and strategic geniuses in 
the history of war. Once in the neigh- 
bourhood of the enemy his resource 
and energy were marvellous. His 
ability lay in gauging exactly the 
proper movements whilst in actual 
battle, but the greater art of plan- 
ning an entire campaign was by no 
means his. Although intensely fond 
of pleasure, he was exceedingly 
rapacious, if not avaricious, and 
sour-tempered ; but, on the whole, it 
must be said of him that he takes 
rank among the greatest soldiers of 
all times. 

Maximilian I. (Maximilian Jo- 
seph) (1756-1825).— Became Elector 
of Bavaria on i6 Feb. 1799. He was 
extremely sympathetic towards French 
revolutionary ideas of the time; his 
reign was marked by many reforms, 
but he was not a supporter of German 
national unity, and his schemes had for 
their aimi Bavaria's advancement. For 
some years he was a great admirer and 
supporter of N., this alliance being fur- 
ther strengthened by the marriage of 
his daughter to Eugene Beauharnais 
[q.v.) in 1813. The Treaty of Press- 
burg (Dec. 1805) granted certain terrii- 
torial additions to his domains, and he 
assumed the title of "King." On the 
eve of Leipsic Maximilian joined the 
Allies, intending thus to ensure the in- 
tegrity of his kingdom, but soon after- 
wards he was obliged to cede portions 
of it to Austria. He continued to 
oppose strenuously the union of the 
German states, but in 1818 granted a 
liberal constitution to his people. He 
died on 13 Oct. 1825. 

Maya, Battle of (Peninsular War). 
— One of the battles of the Pyrenees 
{q-v.), which took place on 25 July 
1813. General D'Erlon, with 18,000 
French, advanced against a British 
division under General Stewart which 
occupied the Puerto de Maya, and the 
latter were obliged to g^ive ground. 
The losses were about the same on 
both sides. 

Medellin, Battle of (Peninsular 
War 1809).— The French under Victor 
were in pursuit of a Spanish Army 
under Cuesta, and the latter deter- 



297 



MEDIATION 

mined to make a stand on the plain 
which surrounds Medellin (28 May). 
The result was disastrous for the 
Spaniards, who were utterly routed 
and suffered enormous losses. The 
French] losses were very small. 

Mediation, Act of. — 5ee Swit- 
zerland. 

Medola, Battle of (Italian Cam- 
paign 1796).— This battle was fought 
on the plain between Solferino and 
Medola on 5 Aug-. 1796, between 
about 30,000 Austrians under Wiirm- 
ser and a somewhat smaller French 
Army under N. The Austrians were 
defeated and obliged to retreat over 
the Mincio. This action was always 
referred to by N. asi the battle of 
Castiglione. 

M^hde de la Touche (1760-1826). 
— An agent provocateur employed by 
Fouche. He was the son of a surgeon 
at Meaux and was educated in that 
profession. One account states that 
while still a youth he ran away to 
Paris, and there, falling in vi^ith some 
criminals, followed their practices and, 
consequently, was captured and im- 
prisoned. Released on his father's 
petition, he again returned to his evil 
habits, and was again arrested and 
sent to Brest to serve with the fleet. 
He escaped, however, and was not 
heard of again till the Revolution 
gave him, with many others, promise 
of safety. In 1790, the record pro- 
ceeds, the revolutionary government 
sent him as a spy to St. Petersburg, 
giving him a pass as the Chevalier 
de la Touche, while he was also the 
representative of a mercantile house 
of Marseilles. His actions, however, 
were suspicious and his revolutionary 
propaganda obnoxious, owing toi 
which he was banished from, the 
Russian dominions. In Poland he 
established the Warsaw Gazette, but 
the fact that he was a spy was again 
discovered and again he was requested 
to leave the country. On his return 
to Paris he was patronized by promi- 
nent men of the movement and fre- 
quented the clubs of the Jacobins and 
Cordeliers. He was assistant secre- 
tary to the commune in various de- 
partments, and in that capacity was 
one of the most ferocious. Though 
he always denied it, there is little 



MtHtB 

doubt that he was one of the assas- 
sins in the Sept. massacres. His 
name, together with those of Tallien 
and Huguenin, was appended to 
the resolution of Aug. 30: "The 
council has decided that this night 
and morning the sections shall, on 
thelir responsibilty, examine and judge 
the citizens that are in prison," and 
the same names appeared on the 
bans for the payment of the Sept. 
murderers. On the i7thi of the same 
month, when the mode of govern- 
ment which the convention should be 
required ta regulate was being de- 
liberated upon, M6h^e worded his vote 
as follows : "Citizens ! If ever a king 
or anything like one should dare to 
present itself in France, and you need 
someone to stab it, have the goodness 
to inscribe me among the numiber of 
candidates. — Signed by me, M^hee." 
He became Tallien 's secretary and was 
his collaborator, it is stated, in the 
writing of the pamphlet The Apothe- 
osis of the Septemhrizers, and with 
Real was joint editor of Les Patriotes 
de 1789. In its pages he opposed the 
system of moderation which signalized 
the latter part of the reign of the Con- 
vention and brought on the criisis of 
Oct. 1795, at which period it was prow 
posed to raise M6hee to the Directory. 
In Nov. he was nominated secretary 
for the war department, and later for 
foireigji affairs, but again the accusa- 
tion of having assisted in the Sept. 
massacres was renewed with such 
violence that all hope of holding the 
post was at an end, and he resigned 
in order, as be said, to have time to 
justify himself. He again became a 
spy for the Jacobins, and had much 
to do' with Babeuf's coiuspiracy and 
its discovery ; he worked against Bona- 
parte on 18 Brumaire, and published, 
as editor, Le Journal des Hommes 
Lihres, In which he affected the lan- 
guage and policy of Marat, signing 
his articles "Felhemesi," the anagram 
of " M^h^e fils." Having made himself 
conspicuous as a dangerous element 
In Parisian life, he was included by 
Bonaparte among the Jacobins who 
were exiled after the affair of Niv6se. 
He escaped to England, but through 
his wife, who had remained In Paris, 
Fouoh6 opened up negotiations with 



298 



M^NEVAL 

him. The plan was that Meh^e should 
now pretend to royalism and endeavour 
to gain the confidence and secrets of 
the ^migrds in London, also acting" 
as intermediary with the disaifected 
republicans in Pariis. In M^hee's 
hands the counter-plot succeeded ad- 
mirably. The royalist plot was hope- 
lessly wrecked, Moreau was ruined, 
Pichegfru committed suicide in prison, 
Georges Cadoudal, with others, was 
executed, and finally the Due d'Eng- 
hien was arrested and shot. Not only 
that, but it was proved that the British 
ministry had also' lent itself to the plot 
{see Cadoudal, Georges). As agent 
provocateur Meh^e de la Touche was 
a brilliant success, and may be looked 
upon as one of the most finished 
specimens. His knowledg^e of affairs 
was extensive, his linguistic attain- 
ments great, while hisi polished and 
insinuating- manner contributed in no 
little degree to his success. Like his 
employer, Fouohe, he made a con- 
siderable fortune, and lived in Paris 
in g'reat style. He published many 
pamphlets, mostly justifications of his 
conduct at different per'iods and de- 
scriptions of his adventures, notably 
Alliance des Jacohins de France avec 
le Minister e Anglais. 

IVI^nevai, Claude F. de.— Secre- 
tary to N. and at one time attached 
to Marie Louise in the same capacity. 
He was a most staunch adherent to 
the Emperor, whom his Memoirs dis- 
play in a very favourable light. He 
aocompanied the Empress to Aix when 
she finally quitted France. Meneval, 
who was brought muchi intoi personal 
contact withi N., seems to have been a 
simple-minded andi unaffected soldier 
with a bias towards hero-worship'. 
N.'s personal reg'ard for himi is shown 
by the fact that he bequeathed to him 
100,000 francs. 

Memoirs. — In his Memoirs, to 
serve for the history of Napoleon I. 
from 1802 to 1 81 5, Meneval betrays 
all the bias of a worshipper, but if 
the chief characteristic of his portrait 
of the Emperor is the employment of 
unlimited eulogy it would still appear 
to have been the only point of view 
possible to the writer. Meneval is 
partial, uncritical, and not very lumin- 
ous; but, like Constant, he is always 



MENEVAL 

the faithful servant and can believe 
no wrong- of his hero, who' to him 
is invariiably unselfish, moved by the 
highest ideals, and a martyr for 
France and its people. 

In speaking- of his introduction to 
the First Consul, as N. then was, he 
takes note of his kindness and con- 
sideration toi inferiors. Meneval had 
been left with Mme. Bonaparte after 
dinner, and he thought that the First 
Consul had forgotten him, but shortly 
after he was called into N.'s writing- 
room, an apartment in which he was to 
spend much of his future time. It was, 
he tells us, furnished with a very luxu- 
rious roll-top writing-table loaded with 
gilt bronze ornaments and inlaid with 
mosaics representing- various musical 
instruments^ — furniture which had be- 
long'ed to Louis XVI. N. was sitting 
in a room adjacent to this, with a 
strong- light thrown upon his writing-- 
table, the rest of the apartment being 
in shade broken only by the lig"ht 
fromi the fire on the hearth. N. ques- 
tioned Meneval as to his health and 
abilities ; he replied that he was not 
very sure of himself but that he would 
do all in his power to justify N.'s con- 
fidence. The Consul pulled him by the 
ear and told him to come back the next 
morning at seven. Such was what the 
memoirist calls his "very simple in- 
vestiture" of a responsible post which, 
he assures us, filled him with terror. 
A sleepless night followed for the 
young man, who was then only twenty- 
four years of age. Next morning he 
rose before daybreak and made his 
way to the Tuileries, where he arrived 
before the appointed hour. He had to 
wait almost a couple of hours for N.'s 
arrival, as the First Consul had been 
eng-aged with some of the ministers. 
N. took his presence quite naturally, 
and immediately commenced to dictate 
a note for the minister of finance with 
such volubility that Mdneval could 
hardly understand or take down half 
of what he was dictating. N. then 
took the paper away from him with- 
out asking him whether he had heard 
him or had finished writing", would not 
let him read it over, and on Meneval 
remarkingf that it was an unintelligible 
scribble he said it was on a matter 
well known to the minister, who would 



299 



ivi£nevai. 

be easily able to make it out, and then 
retired. M^neval then gives us such 
an intimate and careful pen-picture of 
N. as can hardly be omitted. He 
says : 

" Napoleon was at that time moder- 
ately stout. His stoutness was in- 
creased later on by the frequent use 
of baths, which he took to refresh 
himself after bis fatigues. It may be 
mentioned that he had taken that habit 
of bathing" himself every day at irre- 
gular hours, a practice which he con- 
siderably modified when it was pointed 
out by his doctor that the frequent use 
■of hot baths, and the time he spent in 
them, were weakening and would pre- 
dispose to obesity. Napoleon was of 
mediocre stature — about five feet two 
inches — and well built, though the bust 
was rather long. His head was big 
and the skull largely developed. His 
neck was sJiort and his shoulders 
broad. The size of his chest bespoke 
a robust constitution, less robust, how- 
ever, than his mind. His legs were 
well shaped, his foot was small and 
well formed. His band, and he was 
rather proud of it, was delicate and 
plump, with tapering fingers. His 
forehead was Mgh and broad, his 
€yes grey, penetrating and wonder- 
fully alert. His nose was straight 
and well shaped. His teeth were 
fairly good, the mouth perfectly 
modelled, the upper lip slightly drawn 
down toward the, corner of the mouth 
and the chin slightly prominent. His 
skin, was smooth, and his complexion 
pale but of a pallor which denoted a 
good circulation of the blood. His 
-very fine chestnut hair, which until the 
time of the expedition to Egypt he had 
worn long, cut square and covering his 
•ears, was clipped short. The hair was 
thin on the upper part of the head and 
left bare his forehead, the seat of such 
lofty thoughts. The shape of his face 
and the ensemble of his features were 
remarkably regular. In one word, his 
head and Ms bust were in no way 
inferior in nobility and dignity to the 
most beautiful bust which antiquity has 
bequeathed to us. Of this portrait, 
which in its pr^incipal features under- 
went little alteration in the last years 
of his reign, I will add some particu- 
lars furnished by my long intimacy 



M^NEVAL 

with him. When excited by any 
violent passion his face assumed an 
even terrible expression. A sort of 
rotary movement very visibly pro- 
duced' itself on his forehead and be- 
tween his eyebrows; his eyes flashed 
fire; his nostrils dilated, swollen with 
the inner storm. But these transient 
movements, whatever their cause may 
have been, in no way brought disorder 
to his mind. He seemed to be able 
to control at will these explosions, 
which, by' the way, as time went on, 
became less and less frequent. His 
head remained cool. The blood never 
went to it, but flowed back to the 
heart. In ordinary life his expression 
was calm, meditative, and gently grave. 
When in a good humour, or anxious 
to please, his expression was sweet 
and caressing, and his face was 
lighted' up by a most beautiful smile. 
Amongst familiars his laugh was loud 
andi mocking." 

The domestic habits of N, are 
treated by this memoirist at ^some 
length. He states that the First Consul 
usually dined with Mme. Bonaparte 
and some persons of his family, and 
on Wednesdays the other consuls and 
the ministers remained^ to dinner with 
himi. He lunched alone on thei most 
simple food and a little Chambertin 
diluted with water, ending the meal 
withi a cup of coffee. Afterwards he 
received men of letters or artists, 
whose conversation he used to enjoy 
greatly. He had quite a contempt 
for conspiracy, and had no fear that 
unpriincipled persons might attempt 
to reach his apartments. Indeed, he 
had a conviction of the impotence of 
conspirators, and listened with ill-con- 
cealed impatience to such reports as 
were brought him by the police. Re- 
garding the First Consul's life at Mal- 
maison, M^neval states that when not 
at work or occupied by sport he spent 
most of his time with Josephine. He 
dined with his family, and if work 
did not press would play chess in the 
drawing-room. He was fond of chat- 
ting and discussions; he did not im- 
pose his opinions upon anyone. When 
only ladies were present he had a habit 
of criticizing their dresses, and loved 
to excite their fears by telling them 
tragical or satirical stories, for the 



300 



M^NEVAL 

most part tales of the supernatural. 
He used to say that he went to bed 
with pleasure and that statues ought 
to be erected to the men who invented 
beds and carrfiagfes. All the same, he 
would rise several times during the 
course of the night. Once he had lain 
down, his wife would begin reading 
aloud to him, and as she read very 
well he took great pleasure in listen- 
ing to her. On Sundays little 
dances were g'iven at which N. used 
to dance, and through the week the 
family amused themselves during the 
evenings with theatricals. 

M^neval found N.'s habits ex- 
tremely simple. He says that the 
First Consul was patJient, indulgent, 
easy to please, merry with a merri- 
ness which was often noisy, and 
familiar in a manner which did not 
awake corresponding familiarity. N., 
he says, "played with men without 
mixing with them." His relations 
with his officers, the other consuls 
and ministers and his soldiers were 
ideal. The current of M^neval's work 
appears to have flowed with consider- 
able ease; but as time went on and 
N. became involved in his great wars 
the demands upon his energies were 
greater, and Meneval's work grew 
correspondingly, for he says that N.'s 
activity "grew in proportion to the 
obstacles put in his way, and he sorely 
taxed my strength, which was by no: 
means equal to my zeal." He would 
have his secretary awakened in the 
night for a hundred-and-one purposes, 
and when he was handed some docu- 
ment to sign in the evening he would 
say ; "1 will not sign it now. Be here 
to-night at one o'clock, or at four^ in 
the morning. We will work together." 
N. would then appear in a white dress- 
ing-gown with a Madras handkerchief 
round his head, or else he would be 
found walking up and down with his 
hands behind his back, or helping 
himself from his snuff-'box, the con- 
tents of which, by the way, M^neval 
says, he never really inhaled but only 
smelled. " His ideas developed as he 
dictated with an abundance and clear- 
ness which showed that his attention 
was firmly riveted to the subject with 
which he was dealing." Sometimes in 
the middle of work, sometimes when 



M^NEVAL 

it was completed, he would send for 
sherbet and ices, used to ask Mdneval 
which he preferred, and showed great 
solicitude for his health. He would 
then return to bed and could resume 
his sleep at once as though it had not 
been interrupted. One" of the imperial 
cooks used to sleep near the larder to 
serve such refreshments as might be 
asked for during the night and which 
were prepared in advance. Often in 
the morning M^neval would find his 
table covered with reports and papers 
annotated in N.'s writing. 

The blindness of Meneval's political 
partisanship for N. must be discounted 
when one recollects how greatly he 
admired his hero. It is on the per- 
sonal side alone that his Memoirs are 
valuable. This sketch of N. in his 
study well instances the weight of his 
authority as an observer of the won- 
derful man he served : 

"When some lengthy answer was 
rendered necessary by the reading of 
a report or dispatch, when some 
spontaneous idea was suggested to 
him by his observations or compari- 
sons, or when this idea having 
sprung up in his mind, elaborated 
by his meditations, had reached its 
maturity and the moment to set it in 
motion had arrived, Napoleon could 
not keep still. He could not, like 
the pythoness, remain attached to his 
tripod. He collected his thoughts and 
concentrated his attention on the sub- 
ject which was occupying him, taking 
a strong hold on his mind. He would 
rise slowly and begin to walk slowly 
up and down the whole length of the 
room in which he found himself. This 
walk lasted through the) whole of his 
dictation. His tone of voice was grave 
and accentuated, but was not broken in 
upon by any time of rest. As he en- 
tered upon his subject the inspiration 
betrayed itself. It showed itself by a 
more animated tone of voice, and by a 
kind of nervous trick which he had of 
twisting his right arm and pulling at 
the trimmings of his sleeve with his 
hand. At such times he did not speak 
any faster than before, and his walk 
remained slow and measured." 

He had, continues M^neval, no diffi- 
culty in finding words to express his 
thought's, and he goes on to say that 



301 



MI^NEVAL 

if occasionally he made blunders his 
very erroirs added tO' the energy of his 
langfuag'e and always wonderfully ex- 
pressed what he wished to say. These 
were, however, infrequent. Through 
excessive nervous irritability he could 
scarcely ever be got to write anything 
with, his own hand. Writing, indeed, 
tired him; his hand could not follow 
the rapidity of his plans. After writing 
some lines he used toi stopi and throw 
away his pen, and if he happened to 
be alone he would seize upon the first 
person within call and make them, act 
as hlis amanuensis. His writing was a 
collection of letters unconnected with 
each other and unreadable. Half the 
letters of each word were wanting. 
He could not read his own writing 
again, nor would he take the trouble 
to do SO'. He had curious and un- 
accountable intellectual lapses. His 
spelling was poor, but through negli- 
gence rather than ignorance. He also 
made mistakes in figures; although 
he could have worked out the most 
complicated mathematical problems, 
he could rarely add up a sumi cor- 
rectly. But, we are told, sometimes 
these errors were intentional, as 
whien he desired to exaggerate the 
strength of Ms armies. 

Occasionally, according to Meneval, 
N. had lapsesi of complete idleness, or 
what seemed on the surface to be idle- 
ness, but whiichi lin reality concealed an 
increase of cerebral activity. At such 
moments he appeared embarrassed as 
to how to spend his time. He would 
visit the Empress for an hour, then he 
would return, sleep or appear to sleep 
for a few minutes, seat himself on the 
corner of Meneval 's writing-table, on 
one of the arms of his chair, or some- 
times even on his knees, putting his 
armi round his neck, pulling his ears 
or patting him on the shoulder or on 
the cheek. He would speak on all 
sorts of disconnected subjects, of him- 
self, his ideas, his constitution, some 
plan that he had in his head. He was 
very fond of teasing, not vindictively 
but good-naturedly. He would then 
glance through the titles of his books, 
say a word of praise or blame on the 
authors. He would read tirades from 
the tragedies of Corneille and Voltaire, 
and then walk up and down reciting 



MENEVAL 

verses from' them. He would then 
begin to sing "in a strong but false 
voice," usually airs from old operas. 
Or when he was in a more serious 
frame of mind verses from revolu- 
tionary hymns and chants, such as 
the Chant du Depart, Veillons au 
salut de V Empire. He was some- 
thing of a fatalist, and retained from 
early days the habit of involuntarily 
signing himself wlith the cross on hear- 
ing of some great danger, but although 
a believer in his star he never trusted 
much to luck and was always prepared 
in advance for every reverse he might 
meet. " Before finally deciding upon 
his plans he subjected them to the 
minutest scrutiny. Every hazard, even 
the most improbable, being discussed 
and provided for. ... If anything 
could have surprised him it would have 
been the failure of plans which he had 
prepared with so much skill and so 
much care." 

His constitution, says M6neval, 
was robust, and his only indisposi- 
tion seemed to be biliousness, but 
he was extremely sensitive as regards 
evil smells. He was easily upset by 
unpleasant sights. 

Meneval provides pictures of N. in 
the field as well as in the cabinet. He 
tells of his justice and kindness toi his 
soldiers, of how he attended to the 
administration of home affairs while 
upon a campaign, of his enormous 
capacity for work of every descriptiom. 
He would visit the bivouacs through 
the night to assure himself that all 
was well, and on the day of battle he 
would place himself at some central 
point whence he couldi see all that was 
going on.. He had his aides-de-camp 
and orderly officers by him, and used 
to send them to carry bis orders in 
every direction. There is another side 
to the picture — ^his dread of being 
taken prisoner by the Tsar during the 
retreat from Moscow and being 
paraded as part of his triumphi, so he 
received from his medical officer. Dr. 
Yvan, a. dose of poison which was con- 
tained in a sachet, which he could 
carry round his neck and "which was 
to spare him the humiliatlion of falling 
alive into the hands of the Cossacks." 
This was the sachet the contents of 
which he made use of when deposed in 



302 



MENOU 

1814. On the very day after consult- 
ing- Yvan he took the poison from its 
case and was about to make use of it 
when the doctor, terrified by his action, 
seized part of its contents and threw it 
into the fire. But on the following day 
N. rose without summoning anybody, 
diluted the rest of the poison in a 
g-oblet and swallowed it. But it was 
insuffidient to cause death. 

M^neval was attached to the person 
of Marie Louise for some time after 
the abdication of the Emperor, and 
only returned to France when N. came 
back from Elba. Some part of his 
memoir therefore deals with the period 
during' which he was with the Empress 
and her son. He draws a pathetic 
picture of his last interview with the 
King of Rome. The child bad lost his 
cheerfulness and loquacity, and looked 
serious and even melancholy. He was 
asked if he bad a message to take to 
his father, but, gazing at M^neval in 
a sad and significant way, he freed his 
hand from his grasp and withdrew 
silently into the embrasure of a window 
some distance off. He stood there 
pensively for some time, and as 
Meneval was about to leave he said, 
"M. Meva, you will tell him that I 
am still very fond of him." 

Meneval soon discovered that the 
Emperor, after his return from Elba, 
had lost his nerve and foresaw his 
approaching doom, "All his words 
were stamped with a calm sadness and 
a resig-nation which produced a great 
impression upon me." The certainty 
of success and the belief in his star 
were g-one. After Waterloo Meneval 
followed N. to Malmaison. The 
Emperor told himi that he counted on 
his services, and he learned that his 
master's first intention had been to go 
to America, but as there were obstacles 
lin the way he now desired to go and 
live in England, adding that he meant 
to insist on the rights which were 
enjoyed by every English citizen. 
Meneval had to go back to Paris that 
nlight, and when he returned to Mal- 
maison N. had g-one to Rochefort — 
the faithful secretary was not to see 
him ag'ain. 

Menou, Jacques Fran9ois, Baron 
de (1750-1810).— French general of 
noble descent, was deputy from the 



METTERNICH 

nobility of Touraine to the States- 
General, but embracing the revolution- 
ary cause joined the chamber of the 
Tiers-Etat. His political career was 
stormy. He was next employed as 
major-general at Paris, and on the 10 
Aug. 1792 was second in command of 
the regular troops, but his conduct on 
that day was attacked as savouring 
of attachment to royalty and he was 
called upon to justify himself. His 
name was struck off the list of candi- 
dates for the office of Minister of War 
among whom he had been enrolled. 
In 1793 he served in the Vendue, but 
was defeated, the Vend6ans taking the 
town of Saurun, and the royalist com- 
mander, young Laroche-Jacquetem, 
pursuing him for miles. His command 
was taken from him, and, returning 
to Paris, he was alternately accused 
and defended. For his participation 
in 13 Vendemiaire — the "whiff of 
grape-shot ' ' incident — he was again 
brought to account. He was in com- 
mand of the troops of the Convention 
on the evening before the 13th, and 
was accused of having betrayed his 
cause. He was brought before a 
military commission, and was in 
danger of his life when Bonaparte's 
intervention saved him. He accom- 
panied N. to Egypt and there, falling 
in love with an Egyptian woman, 
abjured Christianity and became a 
Mohammedan in order to contract 
marriage with his inamorata. He took 
the name of Abdullah and adopted 
many of their customs. At Kleber's 
death he succeeded to the coimmand of 
the army in Egypt, but was defeated 
by Abercromby at Canope in 1801 and 
capitulated to Hutchinson at Alex- 
andria on 31 Aug. of the same year. 
He was afterwards appointed governor 
of Venice, and died there in 1810. 

Messkirch, Battle of.— Two days 
after the Austrian defeat at Engen 
(q.v.) Kray again faced the French 
army at Messkirch (5 May 1800). 
Moreau again scored a victory, but 
St. Cyr once more failed to come up, 
and SO' prevented the success fro^m be- 
coming overwhelming. 

Metternich, Clemens Lothar 
Wenzel, Prince (1773-1859).— For 
nearly forty years was the Austrian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs ; wasi born 



303 



METTERNICH 

at Coblentz on 15 May 1773. His father 
was Austrian Ambassador to the courts 
of the three Rliemish electors, and the 
early part of the boy's life was spent 
at one or other of the German courts. 
In 1788 he went to the University of 
Strassbourg" and read German constitu- 
tional law, but at the outbreak of the 
French Revolution he abandoned his 
collegiate course. He was chosen by 
the Westphalian nobles as their master 
of ceremonies at the coronation of 
Leopold n. at Frankfort, and again in 
1792 at the coronation of Francis H. 
In 1794 he published a work in which 
he denounced the diplomacy of the 
older school and proposed a measure of 
general conscription for the purpose 
of combating- the Revolution. He 
married Elenore von Kamitz, an 
alliance which not only brought him 
great estates but rendered him inti- 
mate with the most exclusive of the 
Austrian nobility. In Dec. 1797 he 
was elected by the Westphalian nobles 
as their representative at the Cong-ress 
of Rastadt, where he remained till 
1799. At Rastadt he encountered the 
somewhat unpolished diplomats of the 
Revolution. In Jan. 1801 he was ap- 
pointed Austrian envoy to the elector 
of Saxony, and in Nov. 1803 ambas- 
sador at Berlin. After Austerlitz he 
became Austrian ambassador at Paris, 
and in 1807 concluded the treaty of 
Fontainebleau. He was appointed 
Austrian Foreign Minister in 1809, in 
which capacity he arranged the mar- 
riage between N. and Marie Louise. 
During the years 1812-13 his was a 
temporizing policy, but eventually he 
declared war. On the field of Leipsic 
he was made a Prince of the Empire. 
He presided at the Congress of Vienna, 
rearranging the German confederation 
(while not favouring German unity 
under Prussia) and securing Austria's 
interests in Italy. For thirty years no 
man wielded greater power on the 
continent, but on the revolution of 
1848 which convulsed half of Europe, 
he wag forced to fly to England ; and 
on his return to Austria in 1851 he 
found his influence gone. He died at 
Vienna on 11 June 1859. Though a 
brilliant diplomatist, he was blind to 
the lessons of history. He regarded 
the people as unworthy of trust ; he 



MISSIESSY 

crushed all popular and constitutional 
aspirations and maintained that no- 
thing short of repressive measures 
could prevent social anarchy. He also 
believed that the welfare of Europe 
could only be ensured by the coalition 
of despots. Socially he was extremely 
attractive, beiing handsome, gallant, 
and the soul of courtesy ; yet, despite 
his apparent kindliness, he had no 
warm or real sympathies. His achieve- 
ments in the worlds of art, science, 
and letters were of a high order. 

Michelber^:, Battle of (Austerlitz 
Campaign).— After the battle of Elchin- 
gen the Austrians under Mack had 
taken up a position on the he!ig"hts of 
the Michelberg-, from which they were 
ousted on 16 Oct. 1805 by a French 
corps under Ney ; while Lannes with 
another division carried the Frauen- 
berg. As the result of these actions 
the Austrlians had to retreat into Ulm, 
in which town Mack and 30,000 men 
were forced to surrender on the 20tb. 

Millesimo, Battle of (Italian Cam- 
paign 1796). — On 13 April 1796 N. 
attacked an Austro-Sardinian Army at 
Millesimo and defeated them. The 
latter lost heavily (the retreat of about 
1 , 200 men under Provera being- cut off 
by Augereau's division) and fell back 
on the fortified village of Dego. 

Millington, Abraham.— An arm- 
ourer who soldered up N.'s coffin on 
the evening of 17 May 1821. He 
communicated an account of that pro- 
ceeding to the Military Gazette in 
1838. 

Miot, Andrd Francois, Count de 
Melito (1762-1841).— French diplo- 
matist, was successively minister 
plenipotentiary in Tuscany, ambassa- 
dor to Sardinia, and administrator of 
Corsica. He was with Joseph Bona- 
parte at Naples in 1806, and in 1809 
was attached to him in Spain. He 
wrote Memoires sur le Consulat, 
V Empire, et le roi Joseph (publ. 1858), 
and is frequently mentioned as one 
having intimate knowledge of N. 

Missiessy, Edouard Thomas 
Burques,Comte(1756-1832).— French 
admiral ; was born at Quifes, entered 
the navy and became rear-admiral in 
1793. In 1805 he was sent to the 
Antilles to await Villeneuve and co- 
operate with him. He took EVominica 



304 



MOHILEV 

and St. Christophe, but failed to join 
Villeneuve, and was disgraced on his 
return. Later reinstated, he was made 
vice-admiral in 1809 and maritime 
prefect at Toulon five years later. He 
wrote several works on naval tactics. 

Mohilev, Battle o-f (Russian Cam- 
paign).— On 20 July 1 81 2, during" their 
advance into Russia, the French under 
Davout occupied Mohilev without 
much opposition, and there took up a 
position to bar the advance of the 
Russians. On the 23rd Bagration 
ordered Raiievski to attack Davout, 
which he did, but unsuccessfully, and 
Bagratiion withdrew his army beyond 
the Dnieper, 

Mohrungen, Battle of (Fried- 
tand Campaign).— Was fought on 25 
Jan. 1807 between the advance-guard 
of the Russian army under Markoff 
and a smaller French body under 
Bernadotte, who was concentrating 
his troops at Mohrungen. Markoff 
attacked, and after hard fighting the 
Russians were forced to retire from the 
field. Prince Dolgorucki, however, 
who had been detached towards Moh- 
rungen, heard the violent firing of the 
combatants and fell upon the rear of 
Bemadotte's corps. The French were 
driven from the town With the loss of 
several hundred prisoners, while 
Bernadotte lost all his private 
baggage. 

Molinos del Rey, Battle of.— An 
action of the Peninsular War of 1808. 
After the defeat of the Spaniards by 
St. Cyr at Cardadeu the Spanish 
general, Reding, was left in command 
of the fugitives. In a few days he 
managed to rally suffidient troops to 
swell bis army to 20,000 men, and with 
these he took up a position behind the 
Llobregat, at Molinos del Rey. At 
daybreak on 21 Dec. St. Cyr attacked 
them with such vigour that the 
Spaniards fled in every direction, the 
engagement lasting barely forty 
minutes, 

Monaco, Prince of, Grimaldi, 
Honors Gabriel.— Wounded at Hohen- 
linden 5n 1800, fought under Murat in 
Germany in 1806 and in Spain in 1808 ; 
equerry to Josephine, which position 
he continued to hold after the divorce, 
refusing a similar post under Marie 
Louise, Talleyrand saved his estates 



MONCEY 

by a phrase in the Treaty of Paris of 
18 1 4. The English occupied Monaco 
during the Hundred Days. 

Moncey, Bon Adrien Jeannot 

de. Due de Conegliano (1754-1842).— 

Marshal of France ; was born at 
Besan^on on 31 July 1754, the son 
of a lawyer who gave him a good edu- 
cation. At an early age he enlisted in 
the Condi regiment of infantry, but 
at the end of six months his father 
procured his discharge. A little later 
he again enlisted, this time in the regi- 
ment of Champagne, and served as a 
grenadier till 1773, when he bought bis 
discharge and returned to his native 
town to follow the same profession as 
his father. This not proving con- 
genial to his temperament, he again 
joined the army, receiving a commis- 
sion in 1778. In 1791, having obtained 
his captaincy, he threw in his lot with 
the Revolutionary party. During the 
campaigns of 1793 and 1794 he won 
great distinction and rose to be com- 
mander-in-chief of the army of the 
Western Pyrenees — his successful 
operations being largely instrumental 
in forcing Spain to make peace. In 
1799 the government, suspecting him 
of Royalist sympathies, dismissed himi ; 
but in N,'s Italian campaign of 1800 
we find him again leading a corps and 
successfully surmounting the difficul- 
ties of taking horses and guns over the 
formidable pass of St, Gothard. He 
was appointed inspector-general of 
Gendarmerie in 1801, and on the 
creation of the Empire he received a 
marshal's baton. In 1805 he became 
a member of the Legion of Honour, 
and iri 1808 was created Due de 
Conegliano. 

Moncey took part in the invasion 
of Spain in that year, and marched 
victoriously on Valencia— his success 
being rendered ineffectual, however, 
by the disaster to Dupont at Baylen. 
He also took a leading part in the 
second siege of Saragossa in 1809. 
We do not find him in the campaign 
against Russia in 1812; but when 
France was invaded in 1814 Moncey 
again led a corps and fought in the 
battle for Paris. During the Hundred 
Days he took neither side, but his de- 
clining to participate in Ney's court- 
martial after Waterloo led to his im-> 



305 



MONTEBELLO 

prisonment and cost ham Ms marshal- 
ate. In 1816 his rank was restored, 
and in 1819 he re-entered the chamber 
of peers. During- the short war with 
Spain in 1823^ he commanded an army 
corps, and in 1833 was made gfovernor 
of the Invalides. His death occurred 
in April 1842. 

The following- testimony to his moral 
worth was borne by the Junta of 
Oviedo : "We know that this illus- 
trious general detests the conduct of 
his companions. We offer him the 
tribute of truth and honour, and we 
invite this generous soldier to aid us 
by the addition of his talents and 
bravery. If the respect which he pays 
to the mandates of nature do not per- 
mit hiim to take up arms ag-ainst his 
unworthy companions, yet be shall be 
considered by us as a just and honour- 
able man, and our love and our esteem 
shall follow himi wherever, in the 
vicissitudes of life, Ms lot shall be 
cast." {Annals of the Peninsular 
Campaigns, vol. i., p. 150.) 

Montebello, Battle of (Italian 
Campaign). — On 9 June 1800 Lannes, 
in command of 9,000 men who formed 
the advance-guard of N.'s army, sud- 
denly found himself confronted by 
15,000 Austrians under General Ott. 
He decided to attack, and was being 
driven back With great slaughter when 
Victor's corps came to his assistance, 
and a desperate hand-to-hand struggle 
took place. The arrival of N. him- 
self on the scene with a fresh division 
at leng-th decided the victory, and Ott 
was forced to retreat. The French 
took a large number of prisoners, but 
their losses in killed and wounded 
almost equalled those of the Austrians, 
which were very considerable. 

Monte Lezino, Battle of. — 
See MiLLESiMO, Battle of. 

Montenotte, Battle of.— During 
the French campaign in Italy of 1796 
an Austrian detachment under Argfen- 
teau attacked the French near Monte- 
notte on 1 1 April. They were at first 
successful, but were checked by the 
bravery of some French troops under 
Colonel Rampon. It is said that this 
valiant officer summoned his men to 
stand firm, with the words, "C'est 
ici, mes amis, qu'il faut vaincre ou 
mourir." On the following day N. 



MONTHOLON 

massed more troops, and Mass6na suc- 
ceeded in outflanking- the Austrians, 
thus causing Argenteau heavy losses 
in men and guns. 

Montereau, Battle of. — Was 
fought during- the allied invasion of 
France in 1814. On 18 Feb. N. at- 
tacked the Crown Prince of Wiirttem- 
burg-, who' held a bridge over the Seine 
near Montereau. The bridge was cap- 
tured by the French, who thereby 
assured for themselves the free cross- 
ing" of the river. 

Montholon, Charles Tristan, 
Cotnte de (1783 - 1853). — French 
g-eneral; was born at Paris. As a 
child of ten, wMle resident in Corsica, 
he received mathematical lessons from' 
N. and was at school with Lucien, 
Jerome, and Eug-^ne Beauharnais. 
Educated at Brienne, he entered the 
cavalry ; was aide-de-camp in Italy to 
Macdonald and Berthier ; disting-uished 
himself in Prussia, Poland, and Spain ; 
and received five wounds at Wagram. 
In 181 1 he was made a g^eneral of 
brigade, and at the conclusion of peace 
count and chamberlain. In 181 2 he 
was sent as minister plenipotentiary 
to Wurzburg-. He joined N. on the 
latter' s escape from^ Elba, and was his 
aide-de-camp at Waterloo. Together 
with his wife he accompanied the 
Emperor to St. Helena, where he 
remained until N. 's death. It is doubt- 
ful whether his proposed duel with 
Gourgfaud was the outcome of a genu- 
ine quarrel or a mere display arrangfed 
to suit N.'s wish to send Gourgaud 
back to France. Returning to Paris, 
Montholon was reinstated in the army, 
but in 1840 joined the future Napoleon 
III. in Ms attempt at Boulogfne, and 
was sentenced to twenty years' im- 
prisonment at Ham. He was released 
in 1847, and in the same year pub- 
lished, in collaboration with (jourgaud, 
the Memoires de Napoleon a Ste. 
HiUne, and also the Recits de la 
Captivite de Napoleon a Ste. HeUne. 
N. made himi an executor of his will, 
with a legacy of 2,000,000 francs. 

Memoirs. — The Memoires of Mon- 
tholon, wriitten in collaboration with 
Gourgaud, as also his Rdcits de la 
Captivity a Ste. HSlene, are of 
considerable, though by no means 
supreme, importance among material 



306 



MOREAU 

dealing- with Napoleon's life. As to 
their reliability, it may be noticed that 
O'Meara condemns them; and though 
O'Meara is perhaps hardly an authority 
in whom great confidence can well be 
placed, some of Montholon's state- 
ments appear to carry falsity, or at 
least error, on their face. His 
assertion, for example, that the crown 
of Mexico w^as offered to N. w^hile in 
exile at St. Helena is most unUkely 
to be true. Moreover, there are 
obvious lacunce in his narrative, and 
other parts in which the details have 
been very palpably filled in at later 
dates. He has no word to say as to 
the violent quarrel — real or simulated 
— and the proposed duel with Gour- 
gaud. Especially in the accounts of 
N.'s conversation is the editorial hand 
most clearly seen, and in this respect 
Montholon's work compares very un- 
favourably with the spontaneous and 
natural journal of Gourgaud, in which 
the matter is set down red-hot. But 
Montholon may still be read with 
interest, if with care. His recorded 
views of Sir Hudson Lowe are not 
without value w-hen compared with the 
common opinion as to the character 
and manners of N.'s gaoler. He 
speaks of him as being "a man of 
great ability. . . . An excellent man 
of business and of extreme probity ; 
amiable when he is pleased, and know- 
ing- how to assume the most engaging 
form." 

Moreau, Jean Victor Marie 
(1763-1813).— Was a Breton by birth, 
having^ been born at Morlaix on 14 
Feb. 1763. His father was an advo- 
cate with a flourishing practice, and 
young Moreau, who w^s anxious to 
enter the army, was sent to the 
university of Rennes to study law. 
Here he displayed his military talents 
by banding- the students into a kind of 
army which he commanded with the 
title of provost, and when the Revo- 
lution broke out he led his comrades 
in the riots w^hich took place at 
Rennes. In 1791 he was elected lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the volunteers of 
Ille-et-Vilaine under Dumouriez. A 
strong republican, he quickly gained 
promotion as general of brigade, and 
in 1794 general of division. He was 
sent to command the right w-ing of 



MOREAU 

the army in Flanders, and won con- 
siderable fame at Tourcoing-. Next 
year he took command of the Army of 
the Rhine and Moselle and advanced 
into Germany. At first successful, he 
was later beaten back by the Arch- 
duke Charles, but his retreat was a 
masterly one and greatly assisted his 
reputation as a general. Indeed, 
during it he took no less than 5,000 
prisoners. In 1797 he once more 
crossed the Rhine, but peace prelimin- 
aries put an end to his campaign. He 
was instrumental in discovering the 
traitorous correspondence between 
Pichegru, his old leader, and the 
Prince de Conde. This he concealed 
and laid himself open to suspicions 
of complicity by so doing. Alarmed, 
he sent the correspondence to Paris 
and denounced Pichegru as a traitor. 
He was cashiered, and for two years 
was unemployed until at last he was 
sent to Italy to face Suvarov. He had 
little success in Italy, and was super- 
seded by Joubert, with whom, how- 
ever, he remained. Joubert w'as killed 
at the battle of Novi, and Moreau, 
once more taking over the command, 
retreated to Genoa, where he handed 
over the leadership to Championnet. 
On N.'s return from' Egypt he found 
Moreau at Paris, chafing against the 
Directory both for military and per- 
sonal reasons, and on N.'s suggestion 
he assisted him in the coup d'etat of 
18 Brumaire, for which piece of work 
he received the command of the Army 
of the Rhine. On this occasion he 
forced back the Austrians with con- 
siderable loss as far as the Isar. Re- 
turning to Paris, he married a Creole 
lady, Mile. HuUot, a friend of Jose- 
phine. He then went back to his com- 
mand and won the notable victory of 
Hohenlinden {q.v.). But his wife was 
restless and ambitious, and on her 
suggestion he left the army. Soon all 
sorts of discontented people began to 
cluster around the Moreaus, and these 
were known as the "Moreau club," 
the chief policy of which was to tor- 
ment N. with a series of pinpricks. 
In this it eminently succeeded, but 
when the Royalists attempted to annex 
it Moreau refused to act along with it. 
He was intensely jealous of N., who 
received very unfavourable accounts of 



307 



MORNY 

him. — in short, the memhers of the 
"club Moreau " were seized. But he 
seems to have had the members of the 
court before whom he was brought on 
his side, as his condemnation was only 
procured by gfreat pressure being" 
brought to bear upon them by N. 
He was banished ; and he settled in 
America, where he lived quietly in 
New Jersey on the proceeds of his 
estates, for which N. had secured a 
good price. On learning of the destruc- 
tion of the Grande Arm^e in Russia, 
he commenced negotiations with 
Bernadotte, now Crown Prince of 
Sweden, who introduced him to the 
Tsar Alexander, toi whomi he gave ad- 
vice regarding a campaign in France. 
But he did not survive to invade Ms 
native land, for while talking to the 
Tsar at the battle of Dresden he was 
mortally wounded, and died on 2 Sept. 
He v/as buried at St. Petersburg, and 
his memory was by no means regarded 
with great affection in France. 

His forte was a cool decision on the 
field of battle and skill in elaborating 
strategic combinations. Greatly am^ 
bitious, his aspiratio^ns were yet 00 a 
lower plane than those of N., and had 
little of the spiritual in their composi- 
tion. 

Morny, Charles Auguste Louis 
Joseph, Due de (1811-65).— Was born 
at Paris on 21 Oct. 181 1. The child 
was registered as the son of Louise 
Auguste Coralie Fleury, wife of 
Auguste Jean Hyacinthe de Morny, 
but was the natural son of Queen 
Hortense (q.v.) and Charles de Fla- 
hault (q-v.), and was placed by the 
latter in the charge of his mother, 
Mme. de Souza (q.v.). The name of 
De Morny was lent, it is stated, by 
an old friend of Hortense, a Chevalier 
of St. Louis and a Prussian officer 
who died in 1814. The young 
" Comte " de Morny, as he was called, 
served in Algeria in 1834-5 ^^ aide-de- 
camp toi General Trezel, and saved Ms 
life under the walls of Constantine. 
In 1838 he returned to Paris and 
started a great beetroot-sugar industry 
at Clermont, in Auvergne, also pub- 
lishing a pamphlet Sur la question des 
sucres (1838). In these enterprises he 
had the invaluable help of the hand- 
some and wealthy wife of the Belgian 



MORNY 

ambassador Charles Joseph, Comte 
Lehon. In all his speculations he was 
phenomenally successful, and soon he 
had an interest in all the great financial 
concerns of Paris. His political life 
began in 1842, when he sat as deputy 
for Clermont-Ferraud, but speaking 
chiefly on financial and industrial ques- 
tions. From a business interest which 
a revolution would have ruined he up- 
held the government of Louis Philippe, 
and, swayed by the same motives, he 
thought at one time of subscribing to 
Legitimist principles and supporting 
the cause of the Comte de Chambord. 
He became an intimate friend of Louis 
Napoleon, his half-brother, and helped 
in the plans for the coup d'etat of 
2 Dec. 1 85 1. He became minister 
of the interior, wMch portfolio, how- 
ever, he only held for six months, 
giving as the reason of Ms resignation 
his objection to the confiscation of the 
Orleans properties, but in reality be- 
cause of the friction between himself 
and Napoleon III., who resented 
Morny 's pretensions to place and 
power and his desire to be recognized 
as a member of the Bonaparte family. 
"In 1856," says Cassagnac in his 
Recollections of the Second Empire, 
"M. de Morny went to Russia to re- 
present the French Emperor at the 
coronation of the Tsar. On this occa- 
sion he had a * violent fit of Inveterate 
ambition,' and took for armes parl- 
antes an hortensia in flower. To render 
this heraldic language more clear he 
added as a device the words, Tace, 
sed memento/' In this connexion 
Morny Is reported to have said, " Je 
nomme mon pere Comte; j'appelle ma 
fille Princesses je dis a mon frere Sire; 
j'ai le titre de Due et tout cela 
naturel." While on the Russian 
mission, which he carried out with 
prodigal splendour, he married the 
Princess Sophie Trobetzkoi, a con- 
nexion which strengthened his social 
position. It is said that Morny aspired 
to the throne of Mexico, an ambition 
which Napoleon III. circumvented. 

In 1854 he had become President of 
the Corps Ldgislatlf, a position in 
which he displayed dignity and tact, 
but, it must be admitted, he used It 
to further his financial schemes. De- 
spite the friction between himself and 



308 



MORTEFONTAINE 

the Emperor, his influence remained 
paramount and was of liberal tend- 
encies, and to his wonderful address 
even his opponents yielded. In his 
later years his health g'ave way under 
the continued activities he pursued, 
also aided by dissipation and quack 
medicines. The Comte de Flahault and 
Napoleon III. were both beside him, at 
the last. He died on lo March 1865. 
He had collected many valuable pic- 
tures which were sold after his death, 
whilst his ambition to' g^ain recognition 
as a dramatist was disappointed de- 
spite his brilliant wit. His pseudonym 
was M. de St. Remy, and his best- 
known plays were Sur la grande route ; 
Monsieur Choufleury restera chez lui 
and Finesses du Mari. Alphonse 
Daudet, who at one time was Morny's 
secretary, took him as the original of 
the Due de Mora in his Le Nabob. 

Mortefontaine. — The chidteau and 
estate of Joseph Bonaparte which gave 
its name to the treaty which he nego- 
tiated with the United States and where 
he entertained in lavish fashion. It 
was purchased by him for 258,000 
francs from the heirs of the banker 
Durey, who had been guillotined in 
May 1793 for his dealings with the 
emigres. Joseph Bonaparte spent an 
almost equal sum on the restoration of 
the chateau and imp'rovement of the 
property. 

Mortier, Edouard Adolphe Casi- 
mir Joseph, Due de Treviso (1768- 
1835). — Marshal of France; was 
born at Cateau Cambrdsis on 13 Feb. 
1768. He obtained a commission in 

1 79 1 as a sub-lieutenant and saw the 
Dutch and Rhineland campaigns of 

1792 and 1793. When war was de- 
clared against the Second Coalition in 
1799 he was promoted to the command 
of a brigade and became general of 
division. His reduction of Hanover 
was of such a masterly character that 
N. included him in the first list of 
marshals created in 1804. Throughout 
the Ulm campaign he was in command 
of a corps of the grande armee and dis- 
tinguished himself at Diirrenstein. The 
year 1806 saw him once more in 
Hanover, and in 1807 he served with 
the grande armde in the campaign of 
Friedland. In the following year he was 
created Duke of Treviso, and shortly 



MOUNT 

aftervs^ards commanded an army corps 
in Spain, where he remained for two 
campaigns and proved victorious in 
the battle of Ocana in Nov. 1809. 
The command of the Young Guard 
was entrusted to himi in 181 2, and he 
took a full share in the campaign of 
1814. In 1815 he rejoined N. and was 
entrusted with an important command, 
but his health broke down at the begin- 
ning of the Waterloo campaign. At 
the second Restoration he was re- 
garded as a marked man, but in 1819 
he was permitted to re-enter the 
chamber of peers, and in 1830 was 
appointed ambassador of France at 
St. Petersburg. In 1834 he became 
Minister of War and president of the 
council of ministers. He was killed by 
a bomb intended for Louis Philippe at 
a review on 28 July 1835. 

Mortmant, Battle o"f. — Was 
fought on 17 Feb. 181 4 during the 
allied invasion of France, between the 
French under N. and the Allies under 
Wittgenstein. N. succeeded in driving 
his enemy back and inflicting consider- 
able loss on the Allies. 

"Mort Civile."— Was a judicial 
statement attached toi certain classes 
of criminals, condemning them to a 
life-long exile. They were considered 
as dead, not being allowed to inherit 
any property, and their wives and chil- 
dren became, in fiction, widows and 
orphans. The Penal Code of 1810 
extended the punishment to those con- 
demned to the galleys or transportation 
for life. Persons who tried to elude 
the law or who escaped before their 
sentence was carried out were included 
in this class of criminal under the 
Civil Code. The whole system of 
"Civil Death" was entirely abolished 
in 1854. 

Moskva, Battle of.— ^ee Boro- 
dino, Battle of. 

Mount Tabor, Battle of. — 
During the siege of Acre on 15 April 
1799 Kl^ber, with a small division of 
infantry detached from^ the besieging 
army, was sent out to intercept a con- 
siderable force of Turks who were ad- 
vancing to the relief of the town. The 
armies met at the foot of Mount Tabor. 
Kl^ber, whoi had only 3,000 men, was 
soon surrounded by the Turks, who 
numbered 15,000 foot and 12,000 



309 



MOUTON 

cavalry, and had it not been for the 
timely arrival of N., who had heard of 
Kl^ber's perilous situation, the little 
force would no doubt have been cut 
to pieces. As it happened, however, 
N. cleverly enveloped the enemy and 
inflicted upon him so decisive a defeat 
that this army, which was the only 
orgfanized Turkish force in the field, 
was utterly dispersed. 

Mouton, Georg'es, Comte de Lobau 
(1770 - 1838). — French g-eneral ; 
entered the revolutionary service and 
fougfht in several campaigns. He com- 
manded the infantry regiment at Mont- 
pellier, was aide-de-camp to Joubert 
at Novi, and took part in the Italian 
expedition. N. appointed hlim general 
of brigade and imperial aide-de-camp. 
He was wounded at Friedland, and in 
1807 was made general of division. 
He conducted the grand review 
witnessed by the Emperor of Russia 
and the King of Prussia during the 
f^tes held to celebrate the peace 
of Tilsit. He distinguished himself 
in the Spanish campaign in 1809 
and subsequently in the war with 
Austria, after which he was created 
Comte de Lobau (1812). Fighting in 
Saxony with Marshal St. Cyr, he was 
taken prisoner and conducted to Hun- 
gary, and was not released till after 
the abdication. He was created a 
Pasca, and, not being employed by the 
Bourbons, was placed in command of 
the first military division. At Water- 
loo he commanded the VI. Corps 
Valiant. Later he was wounded and 
taken prisoner. In 1818 he returned 
to France after a period of exile; and 
in 1828 was elected to the chamber of 
deputies and nominated commandant 
of the National Guard of Paris by 
Louis Philippe. 

Murat, Joachim (1767 - 1815).— 
King of Naples; younger son of an 
innkeeper, was born on 25 March 
1767 at La Bastide-Fortuni^re, then in 
the province of Perigord, later in the 
department of Lot. His father, once 
a steward in the service of the Talley- 
rands, enjo}'ed the protection of that 
family, and by their influence Joachim, 
destined for the priesthood, was 
awarded a bursary at the college of 
Cahors. He afterwards proceeded to 
the university of Toulouse, where he 



MURAT 

studied canon law. His dharacter 
and volatile disposition rendered him 
totally unfit for the sacerdotal pro- 
fession, and after a last flagrant breach 
of discipline be enlisted in a regiment 
of chasseurs then passing through 
Toulouse. In 1789 he had attained 
the rank of marSchal des logis, but 
in 1790 was dismissed from the regi- 
ment for insubordination. He returned 
to his native village, taking charge of 
his father's stables, but in 1791, 
through the influence of Cavaignac, 
was enrolled in the new Constitutional 
Guard of Louis XVI. In Paris his 
handsome face and swaggering air 
made him a popular favourite, whilst 
Sn politics he became one of the most 
violent enthusiasts of republicanism. 
The Guard was disbanded, but in 1792 
he became sub-lieutenant in the 21st 
Chasseurs, serving with that regiment 
in the Argonne and the Pyrenees, in 
the latter campaign being appointed to 
the command of a squadron. Having, 
while in Paris, identified himself with 
the Jacobins, suspicion naturally fell 
upon him after their proscription, and 
he was recalled from the front. 

In 1795 he returned to Paris, and 
there met another young oflficer out 
of employment. This was Napoleon 
Bonaparte, and the two men, so unlke 
save in ambition and courage, became 
friends, though, then, as afterwards, 
the vain, unstable nature of Joachim 
Murat was dominated by the stronger 
will of the Cbrsican. On the 13 Ven- 
demiaire (Sept. 1795), in the affair of 
the sections, when, with "the whiff of 
grape-shot," Bonaparte routed the 
armed insurrection in the streets of 
Paris, Murat was his most active and 
daring lieutenant. It was Murat who, 
already known as a dashing cavalry 
officer, had galloped through the night 
with 300 horse to Les Sablons, and 
there seized the guns, arriving with 
them at the Tuileries by six in the 
morning. For this service he was 
g'iven the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 
2 1st Chasseurs, and when Bonaparte 
was appointed toi the command of the 
army in Italy Murat became bis first 
aide-de-camp. In the first engage- 
ments he was conspicuous by reason 
of his daring and intrepidity, and hence 
was chosen as the one to carry to the 



310 



MURAT 

Directory the captured flags of the 
enemy. Promoted to the rank of 
g-eneral of brigade, he returned to Italy 
and there participated in the engage- 
ments of Bassano, Corona, and Fort 
St. Giorgio, rendering signal service 
to Bonaparte. At the last-named place 
he was wounded. A diplomatic mis- 
sion to Genoa was next entrusted to 
him, but he returned in time for Rivoli. 
In the summer of 1797 the advance 
into the Tyrol began, and the van- 
guard was under the command of 
Murat; by his passage of the Taglia- 
mento he hastened the preliminaries of 
Leoben. For a short period he was 
commandant at Rome (1798), and was 
.next chosen by Bonaparte to accom- 
pany him to Egypt. At the battle of 
the Pyramids Murat led one of his 
famous cavalry charges, and at 
Aboukir he contributed materially to 
success. In Syria also he distinguished 
himself and was made general of divi- 
sion (Oct. 1799). He was now a 
greater favourite than ever with Bona- 
parte, and was one of the officers se- 
lected to return with him to France, 
where he again proved Ms value in the 
incidents of Brumaire (9 Nov. 1799), 
for it was Murat whoi led the sixty 
grenadiers into the orangery of St. 
Cloud and so broke up the Council 
of the Five Hundred, After the suc- 
cess of the co^cp d'etat he was made 
commandant of the Consular Guard, 
and on 20 Jan. 1800 he married Caro- 
line {q.v.), the youngest and most 
ambitious of Bonaparte's sisters. In 
a short while he was again in the field, 
and commianded the cavalry at Maren- 
go, and was afterwards made governor 
of the Cisalpine Republic. The army of 
observatiioin in Tuscany was placed 
under Murat, and he forced the Nea- 
politans toi evacuate the Papal States 
and also to accept the Treaty of 
Florence (March 1801). The First 
Consul next honoured him; by appoint- 
ing himi governor of Paris, and as such 
it was Murat who had the ordering 
of the military commission by which 
the Due d'Enghlen was tried and shot 
(March 20 1804). Against this duty 
imposed upon him it is said Murat re- 
belled in indignation, and only by re- 
peated commands did he obey. In 
May he became a marshal of the 



MURAT 

Empire ; in the following year he was 
made grand admiral with the title of 
prince and invested with the grand 
eagle of the Legion of Honour. In 
the German campaign of 1805 Murat 
again commanded the cavalry, and by 
his reckless valour and splendid suc- 
cess surpassed himself, especially at 
Austerlitz. His reward was the grand 
duchy of Berg and Cleves (March 15 
1806). At Jena, Eylau, and Friedland 
again the cavalry was under his leader- 
ship, while 1808 saw him made 
general-in-chief of the French Army in 
Spain, destined for the overthrow of 
the Spanish Bourbons. Madrid was en- 
tered 25 March, and in May he quelled 
an insurrection there. In accordance 
with his instructions he began a series of 
diplomatic prevarications, which ended 
in the abdication of Charles IV. and 
Ferdinand VII. at Bayonne. His zeal 
was doubtless quickened by the hope 
that the crown of Spain would be his. 
And that very zeal, outrunning his 
discretion, was his undoing, for it pre- 
cipitated some of the plans of N., who 
was naturally displeased and regarded 
the hot-headed Murat as the least suit- 
able person to rule the Spaniards. On 
I Aug. he was appointed to the throne 
of Naples, vacated by Joseph, who was 
destined for the Spanish throne. 

In Sept. 1808 King Joachim-Napo- 
leon, as he was now styled, entered 
Naples and was greeted with that ex- 
travagance characteristic of a fickle 
and change-loving people. A not in- 
considerable factor in his popularity 
was his handsoime presence and open 
manner, whilst the rather theatrical 
splendour of his costumes appealed 
greatly to the lazzaroni. His court 
was showy ; a new nobility was duly 
created to match the new king, 
and marshals were nominated. In 
all he showed that idea of king- 
ship which gradually led him to 
play false with him who had crowned 
him ; that made him the cat's- 
paw of Austria and Great Britain ; 
that finally and surely brought about 
his downfall, his tragic fate. In the 
administration of his kingdom he was 
sincerely desirous for the good of his 
people ; he introduced many Improve- 
ments ; feudalism was swept away ; 
public instruction encouraged together 



3" 



MURAT 

with the arts and Industries; but brig- 
andage, a "native institution," was 
put down with an iron hand, a proceed- 
ing- that finally undermined his popu- 
larity and gained him much ill-will. 

One of his first acts as king added 
much to his prestige with the people, 
and that was the taking of jGapri, 
"Little Gibraltar," thought until then 
to be impregnable, from the British 
commanded by Sir Hudson Lowe 
(q.v.). He had' also organized a large 
army, inaugurating even a fleet, with 
the end in view of ousting his legiiti- 
mate rival in Sicily, but an attempt 
which he made on that country in 
1 8 ID proved a failure. In his chagrin 
he now ascribed the defeat to the ill- 
will of the French generals who served 
with him, even to N. himself, and the 
relations between the two, strained 
from the first, were now at breaking- 
point. In pursuance of his ambitions 
Murat in 1811 demanded the with- 
drawal of the French troops from 
Naples and the naturalization as 
Neapolitans of all Frenchmen in the 
service of the state. Needless to say, 
N. replied with a curt refusal. This 
infuriated the vain and fiery Joaohim, 
and in this condition, when ready to 
declare war against France, he was 
only restrained therefrom by the wiser 
counsels of his queen. Finding he 
could not prevail against the Emperor 
he withdrew to Capo di Monte, and the 
reins of government slackened. In 
this emergency Queen Caroline dis- 
played great resource and a power of 
organization not unworthy of her 
famous brother. The campaign of 
1 81 2 did much to avert an open quar- 
rel. N., desiring the services of one 
whom he had designated the "finest 
cavalry officer in the world," now in- 
vited Joachim to take command of the 
cavalry of the grande armie, and by 
this appeal to h)is military instincts 
the sulking king was awakened from, 
his lethargy. He obeyed the call. The 
campaign provedt that the old prowess 
was undiminished, and in that colossal 
disaster, the retreat, his courage 
was equal to all demands. But since 
he had again come into personal con- 
tact with N. his suspicions were 
strengthened that the fate of Louis 
{q.v.) was destined for himself; while 



MURAT 

another suspicion had births — ^that his 
wife Caroline was plotting with her 
brother for his dethronement in order 
to become ruler and queen in her own 
right. Beset by these fears, he threw 
up his command in December and re- 
turned to Naples. His enthusiastic 
reception (4 Feb. 1812) did much to 
revive his hopes ; he sawi himself king 
of a united Italy, beloved and ap- 
plauded by a devoted people. But 
Murat had no gift of insight ; he could 
not pierce the designs of men, much 
less if they were diplomats and poli- 
tidians, whilst he accepted flattery at 
its face value. 

Impelled thereto by ambition and 
fear, Joachim now entered upon a 
course which made him of such im- 
portance during the next few years of 
European history, when he became the 
plaything tossed about by the crafty 
minds representing the Allied Powers. 
The soldier was helpless before the 
diplomats; dashing bravery is of no 
value in the affair of intrigne. Im- 
mediately on his return and without 
consultation with his minister of 
foreign affairs the King dispatched 
Prince Cariati on a confidential mission 
to Vienna, "announcing his intention 
of combining his future political pro^ 
ceedings with those of the Austrian 
cabinet ' ' and promising to place his 
army at their disposal and the relin- 
quishment of his claims to Sicily if 
Austria would secure the renunciation 
of rights by the former King Ferdi- 
nand and undertake to guarantee the 
possession of the kingdom of Naples 
to himself. But the time was not yet 
ripe for this. Ausitria had not yet 
broken with N., and incidents occurred 
which, led the King of Naples tO' 
change his mind, decidedly so as to 
terms. Also a certain loyalty, per- 
sistent trait of the soldier yet remem- 
bering his old leader, revived within 
him and he began to hope for much 
from, the German campaign — that 
surely the Emperor, in return for his 
help in securing victoiry, would main- 
tain him^ on his throne. Agaiin "le 
beau sabreur " served withi N. with all 
his old valour and dash. Yet he was 
again in touch with Metternich (q.v.), 
who had opened secret negotiations. 
The promises contained therein now 



312 



MURAT 

seemed to Murat the only means by 
which he mig-ht secure his king-dom. 
At Erfurt, therefore, after the terrible 
issue of the battle of Leipsic, he asked 
and obtained the Emperor's leave to 
return to Naples, where he immedi- 
ately renewed the negotiations respect- 
ing" his accession to the European 
alliance, and proceeded to augment Ms 
army, giving" no indication of his 
ulterion objects. He informed the 
Russian envoy of his wish to join the 
Allies, throwing out the suggestion 
that his price should be the Papal 
States, with thie exception of Rome, 
however, and the surrounding- dis- 
tricts. In December the Austrian mes- 
senger arrived with powers to treat. 
This was Count Neipperg, afterwards 
the lover of the Empress Marie Louise. 
The promises made by Metternicb on 
the eve of the battle of Leipsic had 
been contingent on the withdrawal of 
Murat fromi N.'s army and his refusal 
to send reinforcements toi the Viceroy 
of Italy, Eug^^ne {q.v.). This had been 
done by the King-. On ii Jan. 1814 a 
treaty was signed by which Austria 
recognized and guaranteed the rights 
of Murat to Naples and agreed toi 
secure the assent of the other Allies 
theretOL Further promises were also 
made ; Austria would use her influence 
in securing the renunciation by Ferdi- 
nand of his rights to the throne of 
Naples; she would hasten the conclu- 
sion of peace between Great Britain 
and Naples in consideration of an in- 
demnity ; and agfain would add to the 
Neapolitan kingdom by lands belong^- 
ing- tO' the states of the Church with 
a population of 400,000. Oni the i6th 
of the month the French envoy left 
Naples. Relations with N. were thus 
formally broken. 

The treaty signed, but without wait- 
ing" for the final ratification from 
Vienna, Murat at once assumed the 
offensive against the Viceroy of Italy ; 
marched northward and sdized Ancona 
and Bologna. Yet his actions halted 
as did his judgments. He did not 
press home Ms advantage over 
Eugene, which would have been of 
considerable value to the plans of 
the Allies, but was content with half- 
measures. This the Allies did not fail 
to remember. 



MURAT 

And now began the plot with the 
King of Naples as its tool, for so the 
Allied Powers regarded him ; one who, 
when done with, could be trusted to 
work out his own destruction, and by 
his folly render the keeping of their 
fair promises an unnecessary proceed- 
ing. They looked upon him with tacit 
suspicion and despised him as an up- 
start. Metternich with cynical con- 
tempt called him a "true son of the 
Revolution," who'se ambitions were 
ludicrous, whose manner was sus- 
picious. Great Britain again never 
recognized the "new" king even 
while entering into an armistice with 
"the person exercising the government 
of Naples," who for a time would be 
of value in certain plans. These nego- 
tiations she entered upon largely to 
humour Austria, who, as was well 
known, was only playing with Murat 
wiith certain objects in view. Though 
Joachim bad thusi entered into treaties 
wdth the Allies, material proofs which 
fell into their handsi left no shadow of 
doubt that there were still secret 
connexions with France, and among 
them were two letters to him from N., 
in which the Emperor reminds Murat 
of the loyalty due to him for having 
raised him to his present position. 

In less than a month after the 
second letter (dated 5 March 181 4) was 
written N. had abdicated. Murat now 
looked forward to full recognition by 
the Congress of Vienna (20 Sept. 1814 
— 19 Junq 181 5), but he was regarded 
with little favour by that body. Any 
measure of recognition was powerfully 
opposed by Talleyrand {q.v.)y who re- 
presented Louis XVIII., and as such 
was bent upon the restoration of the 
Bourbon king to the throne of Naples. 
From the outset Talleyrand treated 
Murat with amazing effrontery, even 
" affecting not to know ' the man ' who 
had been casually referred to as the 
'King of Naples.'" He also con- 
tended that to have a creature of the 
ex-Emperor on a throne so important 
as that of Naples must be injurious to 
the security of the ndghbouring statea 
and might endanger the public tran- 
quillity. In this Talleyrand showed his 
power of using the fears of the Powers 
for his own advantage, and again their 
legitimist sympathies were wholly with 



313 



MURAT 

hiim, Austria admitting- privately that 
she shared England's views as to the 
restoration of the Bourbon dynasty. 
But this was in secret conclave, for 
as yet Austria's treaty obligfations still 
existed. The difficulty was how to 
obtain the desired result. 

As regarded the method Talleyrand 
and Mettemich held differing views, 
for here was revived the ancient 
Habsburg-Bourbon competition for do- 
minion in Italy. Besides, the French 
minister suspected Mettemich of still 
being" in touch with Caroline Murat, 
and therefore wished to come off con- 
queror in the g^ame of wits. Knowing^ 
well that Austria had no intention of 
standing- by Murat and would prefer 
a Bourbon in Naples, he proposed that, 
as Austria was still bound by her 
treaty, France, with her restored Bour- 
bon king-, should help restore the Bour- 
bon king- to Naples. But Mettemich 
was equal to the occasion. He check- 
mated France by secretly assuring- 
Louis XVIII. that Austria favoured 
the Bourbon restoration in Naples, 
whilst he formally intimated toi Talley- 
rand that a French invasion of Italy 
would mean war w^ith Austria. Also 
Murat' s appeal for a passage north- 
ward for his troops, marching against 
those of Louis XVIII. , furnished him 
with the means of abandoning" 
Austria'si treaty wiith Naples. Toi 
Murat he replied that Austria had done 
all that was necessary by her ulti- 
matum; tO) France, that the Neapolitan 
troiops must not move outside Naples 
or such movement would be considered 
a breach of the peace of Italy, an 
attack on Austria, and a rupture of the 
alliance. The dupe was by now awake 
to his danger. He saw that all the 
promises of Austria meant less than 
nothing- and their plans for Italy would 
hold no place for him. As he had left 
N. led by his fears, so now he left 
Austria. The old ideas reasserted 
themselves and he once more dreamed 
of championing- the cause of a united 
Italy with himself as king. 

According to contemporary evidence, 
there was g-ood reason for the Allies 
to fear his success, for many circum- 
stances were at hand to render this 
possible, such as the reactionary policy 
of the restored sovereigns, the dis- 



MURAT 

affection caused by the occupation of 
certain states by Austrian troops and 
the great number of unemployed 
officers and men in the provinces who 
would rally to Murat 's standard ; also 
as the Allies well knew Naples was by 
now in communlication with Elba and 
the situation was dangerous for their 
plans. Although, with the return from 
Elba they had entered into concert for 
his removal, they promised him a 
pension and due consideration if he 
would resign without resistance. But 
Murat had his own plans now. 

On hearing of N.'s landing-, King- 
Joachim secretly dispatched an emis- 
sary to congratulate him and announce 
that with a view to seconding his 
operations he was about to attack the 
Austrians. In answer the returned 
Emperor enjoined himi to wait for his 
giving him the signal before he com- 
menced hostilities. After N.'s success 
the Powers again showed a desire to 
conciliate Murat, for Great Britain now 
intimated that she would treat with 
him if he would give guarantees by 
certain arrangements of the forces 
under his command, amongst other 
things, such as remaining "true to 
Europe" in spite of the success of 
"General Bonaparte," also suggest- 
ing that he should send an auxiliary 
force toi France, where "his personal 
presence would be unseemly." In this 
state of affairs a man more astute and 
capable would have worked the dis- 
comifiture of his enemies while wrest- 
ing therefromi success for himself. But 
under the domination of the old am- 
bition he waited neither to parley with 
the Allies nor on N.'s signal. He put 
into the field an army of 50,000 men 
and advanced on Tuscany. In his pro- 
clamation (March 1815) he exhorted 
all Italians to arm for the independence 
of their country and the destruction 
of all foreign influence. The idea of 
rescuing the entire soil of Italy from 
external domination and of uniting 'all 
the states into one powerful kingdom 
was magnificent : such an attempt 
would have been worthy the genius 
and powers of a Napoleon ; but 
Joachim was never meant for things 
of this magnitude. Also his popularity 
was by now diminished. 

Rome and Bologna had been occu- 



314 



MURAT 

pied by the Kingf without serious oppo- 
sition, but in April he received a check 
at Ferrara. The old King- Ferdinand 
had said of the Neapolitan soldiery, 
"You may dress them in blue, in green, 
or red ; but in any colour they will 
always run." This fact King Joachim 
was now to learn. Some of hia army 
deserted, and in May at Tolentino he 
was completely routed. The Austrians 
advanced on Naples and Ferdinand IV. 
regained his throne. Caroline and her 
children were sent to Trieste while 
Murat escaped to France. He landed 
at Cannes on 25 May and dispatched 
a courier to Fouche requesting him toi 
acquaint N. wath his arrival and offer- 
ing his services. All the answer he 
received was a recommendation "to 
remain where he was until the Em- 
peror's pleasure with reg^ard to him 
should be known." This refusal of 
Murat' s services N. afterwards re- 
gretted, saying that Murat at Waterloo 
would have given more concentrated 
power to the cavalry and so might have 
turned defeat intoi victory. 

After the second abdication his situ- 
ation became more critical still. Once 
in Paris the Allies would treat with 
hiim, but meanwhile many would not 
scruple to earn the money set upoii 
his head — 48,000 francs bding the 
value of Murat according to the Bour- 
bon government. The days spent in 
hiding near Toulon were increasingly 
dangerous. He thought of escaping 
to Eng-land, but though Lord Exmouth 
would have willing^ly received him on 
board, that admiral would not answer 
for the measures which the Powers 
might adopt respecting' him. He next 
applied for permission to settle in 
Austria, and this was granted, where 
at Trieste he might join his wife and 
children with a pension and every con- 
sideration as to position. But this he 
now refused. A mad scheme of 
regaining his kingdomi had taken 
possession of him. He set out for 
Corsica and was there joined by a few 
spirlits as rash as himself. In Sep- 
tember he set sail for Calabria with 
the pitiful following of six vessels and 
250 armed men. A storm scattered 
four of the ships and one of the re- 
maining ones deserted at the last 
moment. He landed at Pizzo with 



MURAT 

thirty companions, and instead of the 
numbers whom he thought would rally 
to his cause only a few peasants and 
sailors followed him ; the soldiers, 
though recognizing him, showing no 
sign of joining his standard. After a 
short and miserable contest he was 
taken prisoner by Captain Trenta- 
Capella, whose brother had been shot 
by one of Murat' s officers, General 
Manh6s, who had been entrusted with 
the suppression of brigandage. Here 
at Pizzo the ex-king was imprisoned in 
one of the forts. On 13 Oct. 18 15 a 
military commission of eight officers, 
seven of whomi owed their commissions 
to Murat, tried him by court-martial 
under a law of his own for disturbing- 
the public peace. In half an hour he 
was shot, meeting death unflinchingly. 

He protested but little on hearing 
the sentence, merely saying that if his 
and Ferdinand's situations had been 
reversed he, Murat, would have acted 
very differently. He spoke also of his 
long military life, of his services to 
Naples : her army, her navy, and her 
trade, which he had created ; that 
under him her public revenues had 
been used solely for public purposes, 
not for his own aggrandisement. This 
was true, for he had been sincerely 
anxious for the welfare of his country. 
As a kingf he was liberal, even indul- 
gent, and thoug-h fond of show also 
considered the interests of his people. 
He was the creature of impulse and 
feeling, not of reason and judgment. 
Mental discipline might have concen- 
trated his powers, but the romantic 
appeal of his character would have 
been lost, that appeal toi which his 
troopers answered unfalteringly, for 
as a soldier he had never a superior. 
As a man he was generous and open- 
hearted ; as a politician wavering, ill- 
advised and weak. Here lay the cause 
of his failure. 

By his wife Caroline Bonaparte he 
had two sons : Napoleon Achille 
Charles Murat (1801-47) and Napoleon 
Lucien Charles Murat (1803-78) (q.v.). 

Murat, Napoleon Achille 
Charles (1801-47).— The eldest son 
of Joachim Murat, King of Naples, 
and during^ his father's reign Prince 
Royal of the Two Sicilies. In or about 
1 82 1 he emigrated to America and 



315 



MURAT 

settled at Tallahassee, Florida, where 
he was postmaster in 1826-38. He 
married a g"reat-niece of Washing"ton 
in 1826 and died in Florida on 15 April 
1847. He published Lettres d'un 
citoyen des Etats-Unis a un de ses 
amis d' Europe (Paris, 1830) ; Esquisse 
morale et politique des Etats-Unis 
(Paris, 1832) ; and Exposition des prin- 
cipes du gouvernement repuhlicain tel 
qu'il a ete perfectionne en Amerique 
(Paris, 1833). 

Murat, Napoleon Lucien Charles 
(18 3-78 ).— The second son of 
Joachim Murat, King- of Naples; was 
created Prince of Ponte Corvo tin 181 3. 
After Ms father's downfall he lived 
with his mother 'in Austria. In 1824 
he started for America to join his 
brother there, but being- shipwrecked 
on the coast of Spain was held prisoner 
for some little while. In 1825 he 
reached America and in Baltimore 
married in 1827 a wealthy American, 
Georg-ina Frazer (d. 1879). She, how- 
ever, lost her fortune, and for some 
years supported herself and husband 
by keeping- a school for g^irls. Murat 
had made several unsuccessful at- 
tempts to return to France, but the 
revolution of 1848 at last opened the 
way. On his return he was elected 
a member of the constituent assembly 
and of the leg-islative assembly (1849), 
and was minister plenipotentiary at 
Turin 1849-50. After the coup d'etat 
of Dec. 1 85 1 he became a member of 
the consultative commission. Under the 
Empire he was recog"nized by Napo- 
leon III. as a prince of the blood royal 
and g-iven the title of Prince Murat. 
His debts were paid and an income of 
150,000 francs g-ranted to him. As a 
member of the senate he was not con- 
spicuous save that in 1861 he sup- 
ported the temporal power of the Pope. 
He retired into private life on the fall 
of the Empire in 1870 and died on 10 
April 1878. His family consisted of 
three sons and two daughters : (i) 
Joachim, Prince Murat (1834-1901), 
married in 1854 Maley Berthier, a 
daughter of the Prince of Wag-ram, 
by whom he had a son, Joachim, born 
1856, who succeeded as head of the 
family, and two daughters, the 
younger of whom, Anna, born in 1863, 
became the wife of Count Goluch- 



MU8IC 

owski, the Austrian minister; (2) 
Achille, a brilliant but rather wild 
youth who was in the ca-vialry and 
married Princess Dadiani of Min- 
grelia; (3) Louis (b. 185 1), married the 
widowed Princess Eudoxia Orbeliani 
{nde Sornov) in 1873 and was for a 
while in the service of Charles XV. of 
Sweden; (4) Caroline (b. 1832), mar- 
ried to Baron Charles de Chassiron 
in 1850 and to Mr. John Gordon in 
1872 ; (5) Anna (b. 1841), married to 
Antoine de Noailles, Due de Mouchy, 
in 1865. 

Music, Napoleon's Interest in.— 
The Emperor may not have been so 
keenly interested in mus^ic as he was 
in literature, the drama, and the 
graphic arts ; yet he undoubtedly held 
strong personal opinions on musical 
matters while he made considerable 
eiforts to further operatic and ecclesi- 
astical music in Paris and elsewhere, 
and was accordingly brought into con- 
tact with several notable composers of 
his time. 

A special favourite of his wasi Jean 
Fran9ois Lesueur. In 1804 he ap>- 
pointed him his "maitre de chapelle," 
and the acquisition of this post was 
literally the turning-point in the com- 
poser's life, and heralded his success. 
For Lesueur had long wanted to get 
a hearing for his opera Ossian or The 
Bards, and now at last his new posi- 
tion made this a possibility. The piece 
was duly played ; it proved a complete 
triumph, and N., who was particularly 
interested in Celtic things, made the 
writer a member of the Legion of 
Honour. At the same time he pre- 
sented him with a gold snuffbox bear- 
ing the inscription: "L'Empereur desi 
Franpais k I'Auteur des Bardes," this 
gift being intended to form also an 
acknowledgment of a Te Deum and 
a mass by Lesueur, which had been 
sung at Notre Dame on the occasion 
of N.'s coronation; while again in 
1809, on the completion of the com- 
poser's next opera, Fernand Cortez, 
the Emperor manifested his friendli- 
ness by coming to the theatre on the 
night when the piece was first played. 

N. quarrelled repeatedly with Cheru- 
bini, and is reported to have disliked 
him, yet this feeling cannot have been 
very strong inasmuch as the composer 



316 



MUSIC 

was made a chevalier of the Legion of 
Honour during- the Hundred Days. 

Reverting to an earlier stage in the 
Emperor's career, during his first 
Italian campaign he conceived an ar- 
dent admiration for the Neapolitan 
composer Giovanni Paisiello'; on the 
death of General Hoche he commis- 
sioned him' to write a funeral march, 
while in 1801 he summoned Paiisiello 
to come and organize and direct the 
music of his chapel at Paris. The 
composer gladly accepted the position, 
but eventually, having incurred the 
jealousy of numerous contemporary 
French composers and having been 
signally unsuccessful with an opera 
called Proserpine which he staged in 
1803, he went back to Italy. His con- 
nexion with the Napoleonic house was 
not ended withal, for he was subse- 
quently patronized by Joseph Bona- 
parte and by Joachim Murat. 

That prolific composer of light 
operas, Etienne Henri Mehul, wrote a 
chant lyrique to be sung at the unveil- 
ing of the statue erected in honour of 
N. by the Institute. He is not re- 
corded, however, to have been person- 
ally acquainted with the Emperor nor 
to have elicited his applause, but the 
latter was certainly gained by Charles 
Simon Catel, a composer whose book 
on music enjoyed a wide popularity for 
some time after itsi publication, super- 
seding the work of Remeau which had 
hitherto been the standard musical 
treatise in France. It was not this 
volume, nevertheless, but his opera of 
Les Bayaderes which won Catel im- 
perial favour ; and indeed N. evinced 
the keenest interest in the piece and 
on one occasion made the strange re- 
quest that it should be played with all 
the instruments muted and with every 
mark of expression suppressed. 

Yet another composer much favoured 
by the Emperor was Spontini, and the 
relations between the two are interest- 
ing and pertinent. Spontini came from 
his native Italy to Paris in 1803, and 
in 1804 a cantata of his L'Eccelsa Ear a 
made his reputation a fait accompli in 
the French capital. Consequently in 
1807 he gained the notice of the Em- 
press Josephine and was allowed to 
dedicate to her his opera of Milton, 
and was appointed her "compositeur 



NAPLES 

particulier," while later on, when his 
next opera of La Vestale was pro- 
duced, he again received permission to 
inscribe his work to the Empress. Nor 
did the favours he received end here, 
for N. had lately founded a prize to 
be given every ten years to the wriiter 
of the new opera which had proved the 
greatest success during that period, 
and this laurel was bestowed on Spon- 
tini shortly after the production! of La 
Vestale. 



N 



Naples. — The kingdom of Naples, 
on the Italian mainland opposite 
Sicily, has throughout the greater part 
of its history been associated politically 
with that island, the united kingdom 
passing under the name of the Two 
Sicilies. During the Napoleonic era, 
however, Naples was for a time a 
separate kingdom, governed succes- 
sively by Joseph Bonaparte, brother 
to N., and Joachim Murat, his brother- 
in-law. 

During the great French Revolution 
the throne of the Two Sicilies was 
occupied by Ferdinand IV. of Naples 
and III. of Sicily and his consort 
Maria Carolina. They were not op- 
posed to the revolutionaries at the out- 
set, but eventually Ferdinand went to 
war with France after having entered 
into alliance with Great Britain and 
Austria, Republican sentiments were 
held by many prominent Neapolitans 
and Sicilians, but the lazzaroni, or 
poorest class, staunchly supported the 
monarchy. That the king was un- 
worthy of such support soon became 
apparent; early in 1799 a French force 
marched on his capital under Cham- 
pionnet, and the craven king fled forth- 
with to Palermo, leaving the lazzaroni 
to make desperate resistance, which, 
however, availed them nothing, for on 
20 Jan. the French occupied Naples. 
Three days later the Parthenopaean 
Republic was established. The new 
form of government might — and in- 
deed should — ^have proved successful, 
for it had at its head some of the 
ablest men in the country. But Cham- 
pionnet's constant requisitions strained 
the financial situation somewhat, and 
matters were further complicated by a 



317 



NAPLES 

counter-rebellion raised In Calabr'ia by 
Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffoi at the instance 
of Ferdinand. Ruffo succeeded in 
mustering- a band of peasants, con- 
victs, brigands, and lazzaroni, with 
which he terrorized the whole country. 
Marching on Naples, he inflicted heavy 
defeat on the republicans at Ponte 
della Maddalena, and proceeded to 
occupy the capital, fro'm which the 
bulk of the French force had with- 
drawn, though a few forts still held 
out for France. Ruffo, fearing the 
possible arrival of the Franco-Spanish 
fleet, granted an armistice to the foe, 
and later a capitulation was signed. 
On 24 June came Nelson, who refused 
to recognize the capitulation in so 
far as it affected the royalists. The 
commander of the republican fleet was 
court-martialled and hanged at the 
yardarm of the admiral's flagship, 
while other notable republicans were 
arrested. 

Ferdinand, returning tO' Naples on 
8 July, executed a drastic vengeance 
on the revolutionaries, many of whomi 
were executed and many more flung 
into vile dungeons. War lasted until 
1 80 1, when Murat fought his way into 
Naples and forced the King- to sign 
a convention, which was replaced in 
March by a formal peace — the Treaty 
of Florence. By the terms of this 
treaty Ferdinand agreed to close his 
ports to Britain and to maintain a 
French g-arrison of 15,000 men hi 
Taranto until a general peace should 
be arranged. In 1802 the peace of 
Amiens was concluded, when the 
Bourbon court returned once more 
to Naples. Ferdinand and his queen 
were well received by the Neapolitans, 
but in truth their rule in the years 
that followed was nothing short of a 
scandal. The taxes were inordinately 
heavy ; a feudal systemi of a peculiarly 
oppressive nature obtained ; the law, 
too, was in a curious tangle and so 
frequently overruled by royal pre- 
rogfative that it was practically a 
dead-letter; while the courts of justice 
were corrupt in the extreme. In] such 
an atmosphere trade languished, and 
by reason of the feudal dues and 
the privileg-es of the aristocratic class 
agriculture was no longer pursued. 
Brigandage, however, flourished in a 



NAPLES 

cong-enial soil, and in the towns the 
lazzaroni formed a serious menace to 
life and property. Another class which 
benefited at the expense of the help- 
less poor was the clergy, who formed 
a large proportion of the populace. 

Meanwhile the diplomatic relations 
of Naples with foreign powers were no 
better conducted, for Ferdinand, while 
openly offering- allegiance toi France, 
was treatingf secr«ttly with England. 
This, with his mismanagement of the 
kingdom, ultimately roused the wrath 
of N., who' in 1805 sent his brother, 
Joseph Bonaparte, with a French 
force under Mass^na to oocupy 
Naples. Ferdinand and Maria Caro- 
lina fled to Palermo. In Feb. 1806 
Joseph entered the capital and was 
proclaimed king. A sensible -. and 
painstaking ruler, if not endowed 
with any outstanding talent, Joseph 
placed many reforms and works of 
public utility to his credit during the 
two' years In which he reig^ned. Him- 
self an Italian, speaking the native 
languag-e and aided by a native ad- 
ministration, his rule was undoubtedly 
more acceptable than that of the 
Bourbons; yet he had many diffi- 
culties to contend with ; the kingdom 
was never entirely subdued, for the 
Calabrlan royalists kept up an in- 
cessant guerilla warfare, and a British 
force under Sir John Stuart inflicted 
defeat on the Frenchi at Maida on 
6 July 1806. He was, moreover, 
completely dominated by N., whose 
demands were by no means small. He 
was required to maintain out of the 
Neapolitan revenues a French army of 
occupation to crush out the Calabrlan 
revolt and to conquer and annex 
Sicily. This latter, however, he did 
not accomplish. 

In 1808 N. gave the crown of Spain 
to Joseph, and Prince Joachim Murat, 
husband of Caroline Bonaparte, was 
made King- of Naples. He was at once 
receiived into the good graces of the 
Neapolitans, who loved him for his 
military skill and his engaging man- 
ners as much as for his successful 
administration. He strengthened the 
army greatly and expelled the Corsi- 
can and Maltese garrison from Capri, 
though an attempted Invasion of Sicily 
in 1809 n^^t with no success. Mean- 



318 



NAPLES 

while reforms were carried out in many 
different directions — in education, in 
finance, in ag-ricultural and industrial 
support — but here, as elsewhere, the 
iron policy of the Emperor counter- 
acted the effects of careful administra- 
tion. N. required Murat not only to 
maintain a French army in Naples 
but alsoi to provide for the upkeep of 
a Neapolitan army serving- in Spain. 
Besides this and other heavy strains 
oin the national exchequer, the con- 
tinental blockade seriously affected 
Neapolitan commerce. King Joachim, 
perceiving that his duty to the Em- 
peror and to his people lay in very 
different directions, finally aspired to 
throw! off the yoke O'f France. 

While N. and Joseph were trying to 
subdue Sicily Ferdinand and Mafia 
Carolina were doing their utmost to 
recover the mainland. On 30 March 
1808 Sicily had entered intoi an alliance 
with Great Britain whereby each 
country was to give the other all 
possible support against the French. 
The British were to maintain a force 
of 10,000 men in Sicily to facilitate 
operations against the common enemy 
on the mainland, while Ferdinand re- 
ceived a yearly sum> of ;^30o,ooo from 
the Br'itislh Government. Notwith- 
standing this treaty, intrigues were 
carried on between Sicily and the 
French agents. The prime mover in 
these was the Queen, a woman of 
unbridled passions and notorious 
character, whose intellect was dulled 
by the use of opium. N. referred to 
her as "that criminal woman who 
has so shamelessly violated everything 
that is sacred among men," and "a 
woman wiho is crime personified " ; and 
probably his estimate of her character 
was not far wrong. Not only was she 
enraged against the French because 
of their occupation of Naples, but she 
also cherished a secret hatred towards 
the British, whom caution forbade tO' 
throw themselves intoi her puerile 
schemes for invasion. She is known 
to have made plans for the assas- 
siination of the Emperor and for the 
organization of rebellions on the 
mainland, and to have treated with 
the agents of Murat for the cession 
of Naples to Ferdinand. At length 
the rottenness of the Sicilian court 



NAPLES 

led to a struggle with the parliament, 
during which the British minister, 
Lord William Bentinck, forced Ferdi- 
nand to abdicate and appoint his son 
to the regency. In 181 2 a constitution 
on British lines was introduced, which 
was long and gratefully remembered 
by the islanders. In 1814 Bentinck 
left Sicily, no longer of strategic value 
to Britain, and Ferdinand once more 
resumed sway. 

Meanwhile Murat had grown more 
and more bitter against the tyranny 
of the Emperor. He made overtures 
to Great Britain and Austria, and in 
1 81 4, after the fall of N., he had 
come round completely to the side 
of the Allies. On 11 Jan. he con- 
cluded a treaty of alliance with 
Austria whereby Naples was guaran- 
teed ^ to Murat on condition that 
Ferdinand) was to be left in posses- 
sion of Sicily. This treaty was recog- 
nized by Great Britain, Russia, and 
Prussia. Though Maria Carolina, 
exiled in 1813, had died, Ferdinand's 
agents were still making strenuous 
endeavours to recover the kingdom of 
Naples, and were supported by France 
and Spain. Talleyrand, representative 
of France, gained the Tsar to the 
Bourbon side, and Metternidh and 
Castlereagh, representing Austria and 
Great Britain respectively, were finally 
induced to defer consideration of 
Neapolitan matters until the conclu- 
sion of the Congress of Vienna. 

Murat was in despair over his 
kingdom, fearing he could not retain 
it until the end of the congress. On 
the escape of N. from Elba, there- 
fore, he decided to return to his old 
allegiance, and marched into northern 
Italy with 35,000 men, intending to 
gather round him the supporters of 
the imperial regime. Before the 
Austrians had gathered sufficient men 
to drive him back he had occupied 
Rome, Florence, and Bologna, and had 
pushed on as far as the Po. In April 
the Austrian Army met him, defeated 
him again and again, and forced him 
to retreat to Tolentino, where a de- 
cisive battle was fought. Murat's 
army was scattered and he himself 
forced to flee to Toulon. N. was too 
enraged at his action to have anything 
more to do with him, believing that 



319 



NARBONNE 

had Murat not precipitated hostilities 
with Austria he mig^ht yet have won 
that country to his side. Thereafter 
he blamed his brother-in-law larg-ely 
for his ruin. 

In May 1815, after concluding* with 
Austria a treaty whereby he hoped to 
recover Naples, Ferdinand dissolved 
his Sicilian parliament. On the 23rd 
the Austrians entered Naples to restore 
Ferdinand to the throne. At the Con- 
gfress of Vienna Naples and Sicily were 
united in one kingdom and Ferdinand 
proclalimed King of the Two Sicilies. 
Subsequently Murat made an effort to 
regain his lost kingdom, but on land- 
ing* on the shores of Calabria he 
was captured, court-martialled and 
shot. 

Narbonne - Lara, Louis Marie 
Jacques Amalric, Comte de (1755- 
1813).— General and diplomatist; was 
born at ColornO', in the duchy of 
Parma, on 24 Aug'. 1755, his mother 
being- a lady-in-waiiting to Elizabeth, 
Duchess of Parma, his father a 
Spanish noble, or, as some asserted, 
Louis XV. He was certainly brought 
up at Versailles with the princesses 
of France, and entering the army was 
made a colonel at the ag-e of twenty- 
five. In 1 791 he became marechal- 
de-camp, and was soon afterwards 
appointed minister of war throug'b the 
influence of Mme. de Stael (q.v.), but 
Ms conduct of affairs was marked by 
incapacity, and at last he was forced 
tO' resig"n. After thiis he rejoined the 
army, but he w^as again attacked for 
his policy and for his lavish expendi- 
ture of state funds when minister of 
war. He left France after 10 Aug. 
1792, visiting England, Switzerland, 
and Germany. When in England he 
resided near Mme. de Stael at Mickle- 
ham (Surrey), where their relations 
gave rise to much scandal. In 1801 
he returned to France and re-entered 
the army as general of division. By 
Josephine's influence he was made 
aide-de-camp to N. and minister 
plenipotentiary at Munich. He was 
next French ambassador at Vienna, 
and was engaged in the difficult 
diplomatic duel with Metternich 
(q.v.) when Austria deserted France 
for the Allies. Narbonne died at 
Torgau, in Saxony, on 17 Nov. 181 3. 



NAVAL 

IMavai Affairs Under Napoleon.— 

The influence of N. over the French 
Navy may be said to have commenced 
during the period of his command in 
Egypt. During his course of train- 
ing at a military college N. was 
reported upon as possessing those 
qualities which go towards the making 
of a good naval officer, but it cannot 
be said that he displayed any marked 
ability in his general naval policy or 
in his treatment of the personnel of 
the French fleet. Recognizing the 
overwhelming superiority of Britain, 
he was credited with a desire to 
equal or surpass her in sea-power. 
But at times he appears to have 
wavered in this policy and to have 
substituted for it one of commercial 
boycott against Great Britain, which 
he seems to have regarded as a surer 
weapon with which to combat his most 
powerful foe. He found the French 
Navy in a deplorable condition. Its 
senior officers were in many cases too 
old for their duties, and younger men 
preferred to enter the army, where it 
was notorious there was greater hope 
of advancement and better general 
provision. The naval service was, 
indeed, regarded as somewhat in- 
glorious and as having failed to 
contribute any laurels to the national 
prestige. N. did little to lessen the 
attitude of the people to the sea 
service and appears to have slighted 
the navy and naval officers on many 
occasions. The ships were, though 
perhaps better built than the British 
vessels, maintained in but poor re- 
pair and badly found and equipped. 
Naval stores and armaments were 
wretchedly organized, and the naval 
comimissariat was the happy hunting- 
ground of jobbery and financial sharp 
practice. Discipline was almost en- 
tirely absent, and naval tactics were 
at a dreadfully low ebb owing to 
the circumstance that the majority of 
French vessels were blockaded in port 
by the powerful and energetic British 
fleet and had no chance to practise 
those evolutions essential to the suc- 
cessful handling of vessels in a naval 
engagement of the period. To form 
line was the only evolution known or 
possible to French admirals of the 
time. The officers of the fleet were 



320 



NAVAL 

attired, at N.'s express command, in 
a travesty of a French dragoon uni- 
form, of a cut whichi by no means 
assisted their general movements, and 
they were further encumbered by long 
cavalry boots. Notwithstanding- these 
galling restrictions the personnel of 
the French Navy conducted itself in 
the many harassing situations in which 
it found itself during the conflict with 
Britain in a manner which can reflect 
nothing but credit upon a body of men 
whose gallantry was unquestioned and 
whose misfortunes mvist excite the 
ooimpassion of every chivalrous spirit. 
British naval officers of experience 
were of the opinion that, given the 
necessary chance of perfecting their 
technical training by a course of blue- 
water tactics, and treated in, the same 
liberal spirit as characterized the con- 
duct of the British service, the French 
naval officers would have proved equal 
tO' the British, and that it would have 
been a feather in the cap of the Briitish 
officer who' was fortunate enough to 
capture a French vessel which was 
commanded by such men. Indeed, in 
these rare instances where British 
ships encountered French war-vessels 
which had been on an extended cruise 
the result was such as to justify such 
a belief, a capture only being effected, 
as a rule, after a resistance almost as 
disastrous to the victor asi to the van- 
quished. But an almost superstitious 
dread of their British opponents 
weighed heavily upon French sailors, 
and they realized all too well that a 
contest with them, versed as they were 
in naval tactics and inured to a rigor- 
ous discipline, was almost certain to 
end in hopeless defeat. The central 
idea of N.'s naval policy was un- 
doubtedly the formation of a naval 
alliance of international war-marine 
which would present an overwhelm- 
ing front towards the British Navy. 
To this end from time to time he either 
forced or cajoled the weaker European 
powers to add their naval strength to 
that of France, and in this manner he 
embraced in the scope of his naval 
activities the fleets of Denmark, Hol- 
land, Spain, and Genoa. At the out- 
break of war with Britain in 1803 the 
French Navy consisted of twenty-three 
ships-of-the-line ready for service or 



NAVAL 

in commission, twenty-five frigates and 
107 corvettes or smaller vessels, with 
167 small craft, while forty-five sail- 
of-tbe-line were under construction in 
French ports. It was understood that 
N. aimed at gradually building up a 
French Navy of 130 sail-of-the-line, 
with a reserve of sixty Spanish, twenty 
Dutch, and fifteen Genoese vessels. 
But ten years at least were required 
to accomplish this, and ultimately N. 
was glad to accept an annual subsidy 
of over two and a quarter million 
pounds fromi Spain in lieu of her naval 
contingent. There is no doubt that N. 
placed upon the shoulders of his naval 
officers strategical and other under- 
takings which they were unfitted, for 
a multitude of reasons, toi carry out; 
and' we can only believe that he was 
either grossly misinformed regarding 
the capabilities and strength of his 
navy, or that he callously disregarded 
the unequal nature of the contest toi 
which he devoted themi. Doubtless the 
real truth concerning his attitude will 
be found in the admission that he was 
both misinformed and a little careless 
concerning the fate of an arm which 
he at times seemed toi consider only 
fitted to divert for a season the atten- 
tion of his enemies whilst he scored 
elsewhere. The admirals and senior 
officers of the French Navy lived in 
dread of his displeasure, and his 
strategical advice and curt commands 
appear to have so paralysed themi as 
to render them^ incapable of eftective 
action. Had he paid but a tithe of the 
attention he lavished upon the army 
to the real problems of the navy the 
history of the naval conflict with 
Britain might have been very differ- 
ent. But he found a fleet disorganized 
and ineffective, and in his strenuous 
pursuit of military affairs appears to 
have found no opportunity to re- 
organize an arm which during his 
regime received one shattering blow 
after another and the destruction of 
which finally contributed to his down- 
fall. See Naval Operations, Vil- 

LARET, ViLLENEUVE, CtC. 

Comparing the French and English 
Navies, N., when discussing the sub- 
ject at St. Helena, said : "The French 
fleet is required to acquire a superiority 
over the English fleet. The French 



321 



NAVAL 

have a better idea of construction, and 
the French vessels of the same class 
as the English are better than theirs. 
The pieces [of artillery] are superior 
in calibre by one-fourth to the Eng-lish 
pieces, wihich gfives a g'reat advantag"e. 
The English have more discipline. 
The squadrons of Toulon and the 
Scheldt have adopted the same practice 
and usage as the English, and have 
perfected a discipline equally as 
rigorous with due respect to the 
difference which characterizes the two 
nations. The English discipline is a 
discipline of slavery ; it is that of the 
chief over the serf — ^that of France a 
paternal discipline founded! on honour 
and sentiments. For the most part 
the battles we have lost against the 
English were not only lost by reason 
of our inferiority but because of our 
naval alliance with Spanish vessels 
which were badly organized, and in 
these latter degenerate times enfeebled 
our line instead of reinforcing it." 

Why the French were Defeated at 
Sea 

Writing upon the reasons for the 
defeat of the Frencb fleets in naval 
engagements, N. said: "I attribute 
to three causes the loss of our naval 
battles : (i) to the irresolution of the 
commanders-in-chief; (2) to the weak- 
ness of their tactics ; (3) the ignorance 
of captains of vessels in naval matters 
and their lack of attention to signals. 
The fights of Ushant, those during the 
Revolution and in the Mediterranean, 
were all lost because of these different 
reasons. Admiral Villaret, personally 
brave, was without character, and had 
not much attachment to the cause for 
which he fought. Martin was a good 
sailor, but was lacking in resolution. 
The principle whidh states that the 
admiral is still the leader after a 
definite signal has been given is an 
erroneous one, and is employed to 
justify themselves by those captains of 
vessels who have wrongly executed the 
signals which they have received. In 
all the necessary operations theory is 
useful for giving the general lidea, for 
forming the spirit of things. But their 
strict execution is always dangerous. 
. . . The first law of sea-tactics seems 
to be that after the admiral has given 



NAVAL 

the signal to attack each captain has 
to execute the necessary movements 
for attacking an enemy's vessel, to 
take part in the combat, and to assist 
his neighbours." 

N/s Choice of Admirals 

Regarding the choice of admirals, 
N, wrote on 14 June 1805 : "I will 
not attempt to deny that I intend to 
choose my admirals from among the 
young officers of about thirty-two 
years of age. I have enough cap^ 
tains of frigates with ten years of 
sea service toi warrant my choosing 
fromi them siix capable of high com- 
mand. Let me have a leet of six 
young sea officers commanding vessels 
or frigates of less than thirty-five years 
of age." 

Naval Operations.— N.'s control 
of the French Navy may be said to 
have commenced at the date of the 
coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire. The first 
naval problems which came toi his hand 
were the reinforcing of the army he 
had left in Egypt, the relief of the 
beleaguered French garrison in Malta, 
and he alsio cheiiished the project of 
threatening, if not of invading, the 
shores of England or Ireland. In 
the article on Naval Affairs the de- 
ficiencies of his resources have been 
specifically alluded to, but there lis no 
doubt that these have been overrated 
by many writers. Fromi an early 
period the northern coast of France 
had been the home of a hardy race 
of sailors who had brought the build- 
ing of ships and boatsi toi greater per- 
fection than had any other maritime 
people in Europe. Indeed, so early 
as the period of the invasion of Gaul 
by Caesar they are alluded to by that 
commander' as being more advanced lin 
this respect than the Roimans them- 
selves. They also had apparently a 
larger nautical vocabulary, and pos- 
sessed spars and ropes and methods 
of navigation which were totally new 
to the Romans. Froim that time on- 
wards, and especially in Brittany, the 
seamen of the north of France had a 
European reputation. During the 
wars of Louis XIV. again and again 
had they proved themselves the equals, 
and occasionally the superiors, of the 
British sailor, but the military prestige 



322 



NAVAL 

of France had attracted so many bold 
officers into the service of the army 
that the navy had fallen for a variety 
of reasons into some disrepute. The 
vessels of which it was composed were 
skilfully made and much better con- 
structed than those of Great Britain, 
but they were ill-found with supplies 
and stores and very inefficiently 
officered. Still, when a French brig- 
managed to evade the cordon of 
Britislh vessels which nearly always 
surrounded the entrances of the 
chief northern ports of France and 
succeeded in keeping blue water for 
so'me months and thois gaining prac- 
tice in naval efficiency, it was usually 
found that a British vessel of equal 
calibre had difficulty in taking her 
bapk as a prize. 

At the commencement of bis naval 
regime N. had toi assist him what re- 
mained of the navies of Holland and 
Spain, but eve>n with those auxiliaries 
he found himself outnumbered at every 
point. Relief could only be brought 
to Malta and Egypt by single vessels 
which had succeeded in running the 
blockade of the British fleet. Malta 
eventually surrendered on 5 Sept. 
1 800, and the British squadrons either 
stopped the relieving forces sent to 
Egypt or destroyed them. Admiral 
Ganteaume succeeded in quitting Brest 
during a gale which had driven the 
British blockading forces out to 
sea. He captured individual British 
men-of-war, but he failed to assist 
the Egyptian army effectually. He 
reached the coast of Egypt with only 
four ships out of the seven he had 
started with, but on sighting his 
destination he encountered a power- 
ful British force which compelled him 
to retreat, so that he made for Toulon, 
which he reached on 22 July, some 
six weeks after he had left Eg^ypt. 
But another effort to assist the Egyp- 
tian army was made fro^m Toulon. On 
30 June 1801 Rear-Admiral Linois left 
that port with three sail-of-the-line 
to join a Spanish squadron at Cadiz 
which was to accompany him to 
Egypt, but ihe was sighted by a 
British fleet under Saumarez and was 
forced under the Spanish batteHies of 
Algeciras. On 6 July, however, he 
beat off a British attack and captured 



NAVAL 

a "74," the Hannibal. During the 
night of the i2fch Saumarez attacked 
the French and Spanish squadron once 
m.ore, blew up two Spanish vessels 
and took a "74." He then proceeded 
to blockade the remaining ships in 
Cadiz harbour. In 1801 the battle 
of Copenhagen was fought, and" as it 
can scarcely be termed a French naval 
battle it is dealt with in a separate 
article. 

From May 1803 to Aug. 1805 N. 
was occupied with a scheme to invade 
Great Britain by a flotilla of flat-bot- 
tomed boats. The objective was the 
coast between Dover and Hastings, 
and preparations were made on a 
g'igantic scale. He equipped over 
2,000 vessels : ship-rigged' boats 
called pramesy carrying twelve guns; 
bateaux cannoniers, carrying two 
guns; and larger vessels of twenty- 
four metres in length-, brig-rig-ged 
and carrying five guns. All these 
were built for rowing, were flat-bot- 
tomed and SO' shallow in draug-ht that 
they could be navigated close in shore. 
They could not be attacked in harbour 
because of the shallow water on the 
French coast, which made it impos- 
sible for the British men-of-war to 
approach them. On these an army of 
130,000 men was toi be thrown, which 
was constantly engaged in embarking 
and disembarking, so that when the 
psychological moment arrived they 
would be able to seize the opportunity 
it offered. But it took a long- time 
toi get them out of harbour, and al- 
though contemporary French opinion 
leaned to "the theory that they could 
cross the Channel during a calm, it 
was afterwards adniitted that this 
could not be relied upon. N. there- 
fore saw that he must attempt to 
concentrate his sea-going fleet in the 
Channel if he desired toi gain the 
temporary command there. Most of 
his vessels-of-the-line were scattered 
among ports in the north of France 
and on the Spanish coast, and all of 
them were watched by British squad- 
rons. N. was confronted with the task 
of bringing them together before the 
British fleet could be concentrated to 
meet them. In July 1804 he com- 
manded Latouche Treville, the admiral 
commanding at Toulon, to slip out 



323 



NAVAL 

when Nelson and his squadron had 
been driven out to sea by a gale. He 
had ten sail-of-the-line at his disposal, 
and with these he was orderedi to join 
Villeneuve, whoi was in the Aix Roads, 
when both would effect a junction with 
Ganteaume and twenty-one sail-of-the- 
line at Brest. But Latouche Tr^ville 
died on 20 Aug". , and a delay was thus 
occasioned. N. then introduced a plan 
into^ his naval policy by which French 
vessels were to sail toi distant seas, 
thus drawling- the Eng-lish squadrons 
of observation after them, and return 
to concentrate in the Channel. Great 
Britain, scenting a breach of neutrality 
in the monthly subvention which the 
Spanish Government paid toi N., 
seized certain Spanish treasure-ships 
on theiir way fromi America. Re- 
senting this, Spain declared war on 
12 Dec, so that the Spanish fleet 
could now openly co-operate with- the 
French. But N. 's policy was toi harass 
the British Government by doubts and 
fears of invasion both at home and of 
its colonies. To' this effect Missiessy 
left Rochefort with five salil-of-the-line 
and slipped past the British forces on 
the coast. He succeeded in destroy- 
ing many merchantmen, and returned 
safely after a five-months' cruise in 
the West Indies toi the port from which 
he had set out. But he had not drawn 
any important British ships after him 
as had been intended. Ganteaume, 
on hiSi part, had no opportunity to 
get toi sea, and though Villeneuve 
left Toulon when Nelson was absent 
he suffered such loss in a gale that 
he was forced tO' make Toulon oni the 
2 1 st. Once more he managed tO' evade 
Nelson, and reaching Cadiz was joined 
by one French and six Spanish ves- 
sels under Admiral Gravina, which 
with the eleven ships he had with him 
gave him a force of eighteen sail. 
Leaving Cadiz on 9 April, he reached 
Fort de France, in Martinique, about 
the middle of May. At this port he 
had been ordered to remain until joined 
by Ganteaume. At the beginning of 
June he was joined by twoi line-of- 
battle ships and a frigate, which bore 
him a message that he was to remain 
in the West Indies till 5 July, and if 
by that time he had not been joined 
by Ganteaume that he must steer for 



NEIPPERG 

Ferrol, pick up all the ships he could 
find there and go on tO' the Channel. 
Learning that Nelson had reached 
Barbadoes in pursuit of him, Vil- 
leneuve decided toi return to Ferrol, 
and Nelson, whose information was 
faulty, scoured the West Indian seas 
in search of him. Then, learning the 
truth, he sailed for Gibraltar, as he 
thought that Villeneuve would natur- 
ally return to Toulon. He sent a 
brig home with dispatches, and this 
vessel sighted the French making for 
the Bay of Biscay on 19 June. Its 
captain made England a few days 
afterwards, and his information was 
acted on by the Admiralty, which 
stationed a force toi intercept Ville- 
neuve outside Ferrol, where he was 
met by Sir Robert Calder. An action 
was fought in a fog and ended in the 
capture of two Spanish line-of-battle 
ships ; but Calder acted without energy 
and retreated on the blockading fleet 
ofT Brest, sO' that Villeneuve was able 
to' join the vessels at Ferrol. Ville- 
neuve, however, was nervous about the 
ability of the Spaniards to co-operate 
with him successfully, and sailed for 
Cadiz, thus absolutely ruining N.'s 
elaborate naval scheme. On hearing 
of this movement the Emperor at once 
broke up the camp at Boulogne and 
marched toi Germany. See Trafalgar, 
Battle of, 

French naval activity from 1805-14 
may be said to have consisted mainly 
in the protection of commerce and 
convoy and of obscure expeditions to 
French colonies. Line-of-battle ships 
were still built in all the French 
dominions merely for the purpose of 
forcing the British Government to 
maintain expensive blockades, but 
never were these vessels i>ermitted 
toi go to sea or to meet the British 
Navy in a pitched battle. By degrees 
France and Holland, her ally, lost 
their possessions, and such ports as 
harboured privateers were greatly 
reduced, but not till great damage 
had been accomplished by these free- 
booters., who checked considerably 
British mercantile activity at sea. 

Neipperg, Adam Adalbert, Comte 
de (1775-1829).— Was born at Salz- 
burg, entered the Austrian Army, 
fought with distinction at Jemappes 



324 



NEY 

and Neerwinden, and in 1794 was 
taken prisoner at Doelen and lost an 
eye. He served under the Archduke 
Ferdinand in 1805, and again four 
years later; was sent as ambassador 
to Sweden- and secured the adherence 
of Bernadotte to the coalition; and 
induced Murat toi sign a secret league 
against N. in 1813. In the following 
year he was attached by the Emperor 
Francis toi Marie Louiise, travelled 
with her in an equivocal capacity to 
Aix and Swiitzerland, and on N.'s 
return fromi Elba published her de- 
claration that she knew nothing of 
the intention toi escape. Neipperg 
became grand master of her court, 
and ultimately contracted with her a 
morganatic marriage, of which three 
children were born. 

Ney, Michel, Due d'Elchingen, 
Prince de la Moskwa (1769-1815). — 
Marshal; was born at Saarlouis on 
10 Jan. 1769, the son of a cooper. 
His education was rudiimentary. In 
1788 he went to Metz, and there en- 
listed in a regiment of hussars and 
was soon known for his activity and 
daring. In 1792 he became a lieu- 
tenant, the following year a captain, 
and' having attracted the notice of 
Kleber was- placed by him at the 
head! of a special corps of light troops 
whose work it was toi traverse the 
enemy's line, toi reconnoitre and in- 
tercept convoys. In this service 
Ney won his name of the " Inde- 
fatigable." He was soon appointed 
chef de brigade, and in 1796, after 
many proofs of valour and resource, 
was promoted general of brigade. In 
these actions he had taken many 
emigres prisoners, but always eluded 
the orders for shooting them, a fact 
which the Directory or itsi agent noted 
at the: time. Ney was now in com- 
mand of the right wing of General 
Hoche's army, and again distinguished 
himself in action. On the renewal of 
hostilities (after the peace of Campo 
Formio) in 1799, Ney again took the 
field, commanding the cavalry at 
Thur. He then conceived the idea of 
taking Mannheim, a well-defended 
town, by surprise, and after having 
reconnoitred the enemy's position 
dressed as a Prussian peasant, he took 
the place with a small but chosen body 



NEY 

of men. This achievement put the seal 
on his fame, and he was made general 
of division. In the Swiss campaigns, 
under Massena, he distinguished him- 
self, receiving three wounds. When 
the Russian forces approached from 
Italy, Massena turned, leaving Ney in 
charge of the troops whO' confronted 
the Austrians. In this position^ and 
pitted against the famous Archduke 
Charles, his vigour and genius were 
displayed to the full and were success- 
ful. He served at Hohenlinden in 1800, 
sharing in the glories of the day. In 
July 1802 Ney was married to Mile. 
Aglae Louise Augnie, whoi had been 
chosen for his wife by Josephine at 
N.'s request. She was the intimate 
friend and school-fellow of Hortense 
and daughter of a former receveur- 
gineral des finances. To the first- 
born of the marriage. Napoleon Joseph 
(8 May 1803), N. and Hortense stood 
sponsors. On the occasion of the 
marriage N. had presented Ney with 
an Egyptian sabre of exquisite work- 
manship, a gift which was to play a 
fateful part in the recipient's life. 

From this time Ney, who had been 
an uncompromising adherent to revolu- 
tionary principles, fell completely 
beneath the Napoleonic sway, and was 
among the very few officers of the 
Army of the Rhine who' were trusted 
by N. In 1803 the First Consul sent 
him on a diplomatic mission toi Swit- 
zerland, which, he carried out success- 
fully, and on his return he was put 
in command of the camp' of Montreuil, 
where, in the name of the army, he 
called upon N. to declare himself 
Emperor, In 1804, the day after N. 
became Emiperor, he conferred on Ney 
the dignity of marshal and grand eagle 
of the Legion of Honour. On the 
renewal of war withi Germany, Ney, 
in command of the VI. corps' of the 
grande arm4e, traversed France with 
phenomenal rapidity, and fought the 
well-contested battle of Elchingen (in 
memory of which he was afterwards 
created Due d'Elchingen in 1808), a 
victory which went far to' secure the 
surrender of Ulmi. He entered Carin- 
thia, remaining there till the peace of 
Pressburg, thus missing Austerlitz. 
The campaigns of 1806-7 were, how- 
ever, to bring still greater fame to 



325 



NEY 

Marshal Ney. Again in command of 
the VI. corps, he took a vital part in 
the defeat of the Prusslians at Jena 
and Auerstadt. It was to hiim, that 
Magfdeburgf surrendered wlith 20,000 
men, nearly 800 cannon and immense 
stores.; he occupied Thorn after the 
passag-e of the Vistula, and fought the 
sanguinary battle of Soldau, defeating 
Lestocq ; at Deppen totally destroyed 
a Prussian corps; was at Eylau, and 
finally led, with magnificent courage, 
the decisive attack at Friedland, 
where he drove into the Alle the left 
wing of the enemy and dedided the 
victory. It was after this that N. 
bestowed upon him his famous title, 
"the bravest of the brave." 

In 1808 he accompanied N. to Spain 
still in command of the VI. corps, and 
was there from 1808 to 181 1, first in 
the Emperor's own operations of 
1808-9, next overrunning Galicia and 
the Asturlias, destroying many of the 
guerrillas and cutting off the convoys 
to the Allies. He joined Mass^na in 
the Portuguese campaign, and was in 
command of the rear-guard during the 
retreat from Torres Vedras. In his 
brilliant conduct of this difficult opera- 
tion, though incessantly harassed by 
the assaults of Wellington's over- 
whelming forces, he still further dis- 
tinguished himself, but an unfor- 
tunate quarrel arose between him. and 
Massena, who, it is said, reproached 
Ney for the slowness of his column, 
which the latter attributed to the 
number of carts and animals laden 
with plunder, over which Massena 
gloated. Stung by these reproaches, 
Ney ordered the plunder to be burned, 
beginning on Mass^na'si own share. 
Ney was divested of his command, 
recalled, and severely censured by N., 
but was soon re-employed with the 
grande armie under N. himself in the 
Russian campaign (1812). At Boro- 
dino (La Moskwa), Ney commanded 
the centre, surpassing even his own 
brilliant deeds, and on the evening of 
the victory was created Pr'ince of the 
Moskwa. But in the dreadful retreat 
from Moscow Ney, commanding the 
rear-guard, was to rise to greater 
heights still, by reason not only of his 
own sublime courage and genius but 
by simple manhood and kindness. He 



NEY 

was a veritable tower of strength, 
keepiing his harassed and starving 
soldiers together though; continually 
attacked by the well-provided enemy ; 
standing himself in the ranks with 
musket and bayonet; leading them 
through the night across ice and snow 
to circumvent the pursuers, and being 
finally the last to recross the frontier, 
throwing tjhe muskets that remained 
into' the Niemen. It is one of the 
most magnificent instances of personal 
devotion and courage in circumstances 
of unexampled disaster that the world 
has known. 

In the campaign of 181 3 he com- 
manded a corps, and was present at 
Liitzen, Bautzen, Dennewitz, and 
Leipsic. Undismayed by defeat, he 
fought on with, undiminished zeal in 
181 4, and at the fall of the Empire 
acted together with Macdonald and 
Caulaincourt in the negotiations with 
the Allies on behalf of N. ; and it is 
evident that he disliked and vigorously 
objected to the terms of abdication to^ 
which N. had finally to submit. The 
abdication was beyond Ney's power to 
avert, but his behaviour at the Restora- 
tion, his noisy support of the Bour- 
bons, is unintelligible. The whirl of 
events unbalanced his character. But 
the new regime was not for him^ — the 
swarm of returning aristocrats had no 
place for "the bravest of the brave," 
and only furnished the ludicrous 
spectacle of pretentiousness patroniz- 
ing genius. Ney was mortified, and 
retired to his country seat. Later a 
command at Besan9on was offered 
him, and on his way there he heard of 
N.'s return, Ney hurried to Paris, 
renewed his vows of loyalty to 
Louis XVIII., and accepted the com- 
mission to repel the invader with the 
famous but unfortunate remark that he 
would return with the usurper in an 
iron cage. At Lons-le-SauInier his 
new-sprung loyalty was put to the 
test, and was swept away before the 
personality of N. Ney and his troops 
went to swell the Emperor's triumphant 
progress. Yet in his blundering way 
he tried to make some constitutional 
guarantees the price of his return to 
his old chief ; but though Ney was 
not a political adept, this fact shows 
that his so-called treason to the Bour- 



326 



NEY 

bons was not calculated and cold- 
blooded as his enemies asserted. 
Received by the Emperor with great 
kindness, yet he at first received no 
command, but was summoned by 
N. to the army on the northern 
frontier, where on 13 June he took 
command of the left wing, the next 
day moving into Belgium. His 
behaviour at certain junctures of the 
Waterloo campaign has been the 
cause of much controversy. As 
strategist he was perforce subordinated 
to N., and as a soldier his courage was 
unquestioned. When the struggle was 
over a deadly apathy fell upon him, 
and further action on his part seemed 
an impossibility. He acquiesced in the 
restoration of the Bourbons, to whom 
he renewed his fealty only to be 
ignored by them. At first he thought 
of leaving France, but, apathetic in 
this as in all else, he relinquished the 
idea, believing himself protected by 
the terms of the convention (3 June), 
but an order was issued in which he 
was denounced by name. Again he 
made some attempt at escape, but with 
a strange indifference. Suchet, it is 
said, offered him money and passports, 
whiicth were declined, and the marshal 
proceeded to Aurillac where some 
relative of his resided. There he was 
taken, discovered, it is stated, by the 
Egyptian sabre, N.'s wedding gift. 
Beyond doubt Louis and his ministers 
would have preferred Ney's escape to 
his arrest. In the face of his remark- 
able fame and popularity, this could 
not but be a disaster to their prestige, 
for his doom was certain, driven as 
they were by the extremists of their 
own party. At Paris he was brought 
before a court-martial composed 
mainly of his old companions-in-arms : 
these earned only infamy in the judg- 
ment of their countrymen, whilst 
others, who had indignantly refused to 
serve in sxich a capacity, after being 
disgraced for this by the Bourbons, 
were reinstated by the sheer force of 
public opinion. Any delay of Ney's 
trial tried the patience of the Royalists, 
who were resolved on his death ; and 
one of the most unlovely episodes in 
history is the vindictive share played in 
this tragedy by the Duchesse d'Angou- 
l^me, who, realizing afterwards what 



NILE 

she had done, made the weak and 
somewhat doubtful defence that she had 
not known of the marshal's services to 
France. Ney's counsel, Berryer and 
Dupiin, pleaded his right to be tried 
by his equals in the chamber of peers, 
and to this the court gladly assented. 
The defence was based on the article 
of the convention which included 
soldiers in the capitulation, but this 
was over-ruled, one of the grounds for 
so doing- being that his birthplace, 
Saarlouis, had been recently dis- 
severed from France, therefore Ney 
was not amenable to French laws. 
The trial was a hollow sham, and is 
only redeemed from utter infamy by 
the generous appeal of the young Due 
de Brogiie, Who was the only one who 
voted for the marshal's acquittal. The 
sentence of death was conveyed to 
the doomed man, whose calm was only 
ruflflied by the adieux to wife and 
children. In the early morning of 
7 Dec. 181 5 Marshal Ney was shot in 
the Luxembourg Gardens near to the 
observatory. He met his death with 
such courage as he had displayed on 
the field of battle, refusing to have his 
eyes bandaged and himself g'iving the 
word to fire. His death enshrined him 
for ever in the hearts of the French 
and left an indelible stain on the Bour- 
bon name. Wellington, too, must be 
held responsible in so far as he stood 
aside when he mig^ht have saved a 
fellow-soldier by insisting on the just 
interpretation of the military capitula- 
tion to the Allies, which included 
soldiers. 

Nile, Battle of the. — This im- 
portant naval action, which is also 
known as the Battle of Aboukir, took 
place during the night of i Aug. 1798 
between the British fleet under Nelson 
and a French fleet led by Admiral 
Brueys, which was anchored in 
Aboukir Bay. The rival forces 
boasted an equal number of ships-of- 
the-line, but Nelson's disposition of his 
squadrons was greatly more skilful. 
He succeeded by a manoeuvre, which 
combined daring and address, in plac- 
ing half his ships between the line of 
the French fleet and the shore, while 
the remaining half anchored on the 
seaward side of the enemy. Brueys, 
thus placed between two fires, fought 



327 



NIVE 

a losing- battle almost from the first 
with distinguished gallantry. Concen- 
trating his attack upon that portion of 
the French fleet which was exposed to 
a high wind, Nelson thus made it im- 
possible for the leeward vessels to 
render any assistance, and, taking the 
French ships in detail, destroyed all 
but two vessels-of-the-line and two 
frigates. The French flagship Orient 
was blown up, the event being ren- 
dered memorable by the bravery of the 
young son of her commander, who had 
been ordered by his father not to quit 
his post, and who perished rather than 
disobey the paternal injunction. The 



NORWAY 

French {79,000) had been engaged in 
cutting out a strong position for them- 
selves to the south of the Nivelle. On 
10 Nov. 181 3 the British under Wel- 
lington attacked their lines, cut Soult's 
army in two, thus forcing him to fall 
back across the river, down both sides 
of which the British then camped. The 
French losses were about 4,000 men 
and twenty-one guns, while the British 
lost 2,700. 

Norway. — During the period of 
N.'s regime the kingdom of Norway 
was joined to that of Denmark. In 
1800 the Danish Government com- 
mitted itself to the Second Armed 




Culf«« English — --l|n> French -JQp 






ABOUKIR 

BAY 



^-4 Vanguard 









,; 



Orion ^ ^ ^7 




/g6BoUt-ro|iLon 

ifl^s ^Majestic 



fe'- 



'^'■ 



\ 



The Battle of the Nile 



incident is immortalized in the well- 
known poem, "Casabianca." 

Nive, Battles of the (Peninsular 

War 1813). — After several lesser en- 
gagements on previous days, 14,000 
British and Portuguese troops under 
Hill were attacked on 13 Dec. 181 3 
near the River Nive by 35,000 French 
under Soult. The former held a good 
position, which with varying success 
they maintained for some hours until 
Wellington arrived to their aid, when 
they succeeded in driving back the 
French to their original position. In 
the four days' fighting the Allies lost 
about 5,000 killed and wounded and 
the French 7,000. 

Nivelle, Battle of the (Peninsular 
War 1813). — For three months the 



Neutrality, and therefore Norway was 
technically on the side of N. and at 
war with Great Britain. It was not 
until 1807, however, that she was 
fully involved in the Napoleonic wars. 
After the bombardment of Copenhagen 
Danish policy compelled her to em- 
brace the Napoleonic cause against 
both England and Sweden. Her com- 
merce was in a deplorable condition, 
and her food supply failed. So great 
was the national distress that popular 
leaders arose, perhaps the most con- 
spicuous being Count Hermann Jasper 
von Wedel-Jarlsberg. The patriotic 
party demanded an administration dis- 
tinct from that of Denmark, and this 
was ceded in 1807. In 1814 Frederick 
VI. of Denmark was compelled to cede 



328 



OCANA 

Norway to Sweden, of which country 
Bernadotte (q-v.) had become crown 
prince. Frederick absolved the Nor- 
weg-ians from their oath of allegiance, 
and they were called upon to become 
loyal subjects of the Swedish king ; but 
they had not been consulted in the 
matter and refused to acknowledge the 
treaty. A meeting of delegates was 
convened at Eidsvold, where on 17 
May 1 814 a new constitution was 
adopted, which embraced the creation 
of the Storthing or national assembly. 
The Danish governor of Norway, 
Prince Christian Frederick, was un- 
animously elected king. Sweden 
under Bernadotte invaded Norway, 
and the consequent hostilities lasted 
only a fortnight, when negotiations 
were opened. A convention was held 
at Moss, where it was proposed that 
Norwegians should accept the Swedish 
king as their sovereign on condition 
that the constitution which they had 
framed should remain intact with' the 
exception of a few minor alterations. 
On 4 Nov. 1 81 4, a month after the 
Prince had fled, Norway was declared 
to be a free, independent and indivi- 
sible kingdom, united with Sweden 
under one king. 



O 



Ocana, Battle of (Peninsular War). 

— On 18 Nov. 1809, on the plain of 
Ocana, near Aranjuez, a Spanish army 
of 50,000 men, under Areizaga, met 
about 30,000 French, nominally under 
King Joseph Bonaparte but com- 
manded by Soult. After a preliminary 
cavalry encounter, in which the French 
dragoons under Milhaud routed the 
Spanish horse with severe loss, the 
French commenced the attack. The 
Spaniards at first stood firm, while 
their guns kept up such a destructive 
cannonade that the leading ranks of 
the advancing French column wavered 
and then fell back. Soult then hastened 
up fresh troops, which restored the 
battle and ultimately gave the French 
a magnificent victory. The loss to 
the Spaniards was 5,000 killed and 
wounded, 20,000 prisoners, forty-five 
guns, and the whole of their ammuni- 
tion and baggage, while the French 
losses were comparatively insignificant. 



O'MEARA 

O'Meara, Barry Edward (1786- 

1836). — For a time personal doctor to 
N. at St. Helena ; was a native of Ire- 
land and born in 1786. As a surgeon 
he entered first the service of the army, 
but was forced to leave it in 1808 
owing to his participation in a duel. 
Soon after he obtained a post in the 
navy, and as ship's surgeon was on 
board the Bellerophon when N. sur- 
rendered to Admiral Maitland in July 
1 81 5. He was favourably noticed by 
the Emperor, and received an invita- 
tion to act as N.'s medical attendant, 
which he accepted, sailing to St. 
Helena with Bonaparte, on the North- 
umberland, and filling the position of 
his private doctor until his removal 
about the middle of 18 18. O'Meara 
soon fell under the sway of N.'s 
great personal attraction, and became 
I'homme de VEmpereur, as the phrase 
goes, whether entirely disinterested or 
not. He was removed from his post 
in 1 818 for reasons which will be 
mentioned later. On his leaving, N. 
thanked him for his care of him, gave 
him various messages to his family, 
and bade him "quit the abode of dark- 
ness and crime." In Oct. of the same 
year O'Meara wrote a letter to the 
Admiralty in which he insinuated that 
Sir Hudson Lowe had sounded him on 
his willingness to' hasten N.'s death 
artificially. To this the Admiralty re- 
plied : " Either the charge is in the last 
degree false and calumnious or you can 
have no possible excuse for having 
hitherto suppressed it," at the same 
time dismissing him from the navy. 

Around the statements contained in 
O'Meara's book, A Voice from St. 
Helena, or Napoleon in Exile (pub- 
lished in 1822), much controversy has 
raged. The sympathy of the British 
nation with the fallen Emperor had 
already been aroused, and the work 
ran through five editions in a few 
mo'nths. By his friends the author is 
held up as a much-maligned hero — a 
martyr — true to his belief that it was 
his duty to expose the treatment which 
N. received from his captors, although 
knowing well that such exposure 
would spell ruin tO' himself; while his 
enemies denounce him as dishonour- 
able, a paid homme de VEmpereur and 
a liar. In support of the former we 



329 



O'MEARA 

have the evidence of the contemporary 
Las Cases, Montholon, Marchand, and 
Antornmarchi, and ag^ainst them that 
of Sir Hudson Lowe, Mr. Henry 
(assist. -surg^eon), Jackson (lieut.), and 
others. From beginning- to end the 
Voice is an indictment of Sir Hudson 
Lowe (the governor of St. Helena), 
either from^ personal motives or from 
an honest wish to expose what 
O'Meara considered his scandalous 
treatment of a great man, and from 
this latter standpoint the doctor viewed 
the daily happenings and events on the 
island. 

Th,e most serious accusation made is 
probably that the British Government 
were endeavouring, with the aid of 
their governor and the climate of St. 
Helena, to hasten N.'g end, and that 
the disease from which N. suffered 
was being greatly accelerated by the 
climate and the restrictions placed 
upon him. The question of the real 
cause of N.'s death is dealt with 
elsewhere (see Autopsy), but it was 
O'Meara's stated opinion that con- 
tinued residence on St. Helena would 
endanger N.'s life. 

Next we have the statement that 
Lowe wished O'Meara td act as a spy 
on N. At first the doctor seems to 
have been on quite good terms with 
the governoir and to have voluntarily 
given him information about affairs 
at Longwood. Meantime Lowe dis- 
covered that O'Meara was sending 
much fuller information in private 
letters to a friend in the Admiralty 
(Mr. Finlaison), and not unnaturally 
considered that he (Lowe) should also 
be informed of these particulars. This 
appears to be the grain of truth which 
made the accusation so dangerous and 
difficult of explanation. O'Meara's 
righteous indignation at this attempted 
bribery loses, however, its poignancy 
when we find that he himself was 
under a promise to N. "not to re- 
veal the conversations that passed 
between them unless they related to 
his escape " ; and, according to Mr. 
Henry in his Events of a Military 
Life, the doctor made an attempt to 
bribe Henry and others on the island 
to^ join the Bonapartist intrigues. 
O'Meara has also been accused of 
repeating conversations heard at mess 



O'MEARA 

to N., and Mme. Bertrand acknow- 
ledged after the Emperor's death that 
this charge was true. For this dis- 
honourable conduct O'Meara was 
asked to cease from attending mess 
by the commanding officer of the 
regiment stationed at St. Helena (the 
66th) ; but we must not overlook the 
fact that the officers of the mess 
certified as to his good' conduct while 
mixing with them, and great promi- 
nence is given to this certificate in the 
Voice. 

It is said that these intrigues on 
the part of O'Meara and the French 
were but the details of a deliberately 
thought-out plan to rouse sympathy 
with N. and if possible secure his re- 
call from, St. Helena, and some such 
aim was afterwards acknowledged by 
the ex-Emperor's suite. 

As regards O'Meara's dismissal, he 
himself states that it was brought 
about by Sir Hudson Lowe because 
of his (O'Meara's) refusal to act as 
spy ; but Mr. Henry says in his narra- 
tive that O'Meara resigned his post 
because his intrigues were discovered, 
that his application was sent home, 
and soon after Lowe received orders 
from the British Government to dis- 
miss O'Meara because of information 
which they had received from; another 
source. This source was no other 
than General Gourgaud, who was in 
England, and referred to "clandes- 
tine correspondence." In Gourgaud's 
Journal we also read that O'Meara 
had been in receipt of money from N. 

The question of the inaccuracy of 
the statements which appear in the 
Voice has been very thoroughly gone 
into by Mr. William Forsyth, Q.C., 
in his History of the Captivity of 
Napoleon on St. Helena. In 1888 the 
Voice was republished and renamed 
Napoleon at St. Helena, and from this 
edition some of O'Meara's misstate- 
ments have been omitted ; yet addi- 
tions which are made to the book 
are scarcely more accurate. It is only 
fair to add, however, that O'Meara's 
book, if read withi caution, may be 
found both interesting and useful. 

After O'Meara's dismissal from the 
navy little was heard of him, but he 
latterly became an adherent of Daniel 
O'Connell. He died in 1836. 



330 



OPERA 

Opera. — It was when on his way 
to the opera one evening in Paris that 
an attempt was made to assassinate 
N. ; and it is recorded that, far from 
betray ingf sig'ns of perturbation, he 
took virtually no notice of the affair, 
simply telling his coachman to drive 
forward to the theatre at the accus- 
tomed pace. Now this incident, 
illustrating so happily the Emperor's 
native courage, together with his 
wonderful command over his emo- 
tions, serves equally well to show 
how enthusiastic an opera-goer he 
was; and turning to his Correspond- 
ence, that great dictionary of ideas 
and opinions, we see quite a number 
of things which further demonstrate 
the imperial predilection in this 
respect. In 1797, for example, Bona- 
parte declares that, "of all the fine 
arts, music is the one that has most 
influence on the feelings, the ona that 
a legislator should most encourage " ; 
while in the summer of 1805 he writes 
speculating as to what manner of piece 
Mozart's Don Giovanni is, and a little 
later, having duly heard that opera, 
he justly expresses keen admiration for 
its beauty. In 1806, again, he tells of 
the pleasure he has lately experienced 
in making the acquaintance of Paer, 
an Italian operatic composer, famous 
at that time although little remembered 
nowadays; while we learn that on the 
Emperor hearing Romeo and Juliet 
at Vienna, and being particularly de- 
lighted with the part played therein 
by Crescontini, he straightway offered 
him handsome remuneration would he 
leave Austria and come to France, 
this offer being gladly accepted by the 
then renowned singer. After acquir- 
ing the French throne N. did not by 
any means forget the precept he had 
formerly enunciated concerning a 
legislator's duties towards music. "If 
things do not go better at the opera," 
we find him writing in 1807, " I will 
put a good soldier to manage them, 
who will wake them up " ; and all the 
lively interest manifested thus by the 
Emperor makes us the more eager, 
naturally, to know what sort of operas 
chiefly held sway in the France of his 
era. 

Several new theatres came into 
being during the Consulate and the 



OPERA 

Empire, while, even apart from these, 
the number existing in Paris in those 
days was very considerable ; and of 
suchi places, the two whichi constituted 
the principal rally ing--ground for operas 
were the Favart and the Feydan. The 
former had been known in earlier times 
as the Comedie Italienne, the latter as 
the Theatre de Monsieur; but on the 
eve of N.'s coronation the parties con- 
ducting these two theatres were in- 
duced to join hands, so to speak, 
the united theatre being thenceforth 
known as the Opera Comique, while 
a little later the company chiefly 
playing there received the title of 
"Com^diens ordinaires de I'Em- 
pereur." And this change of names 
and the like, while seeming at first 
sight a slight matter, possesses in 
reality a certain significance, for the 
whole art of opera likewise underwent 
something of a metamoirphosis during 
Napoleonic times. 

During the reigns of Lx>uis XV. 
and Louis XVI. opera was a very 
popular form of entertainment 
throughout France, the majority of 
pieces written, nevertheless, being 
by Italians and not by native com- 
posers. These Italians, in general, 
sought no coherency between the 
scenes enacted and the music played 
along with them, while most of them 
composed in a rather ornate and 
frothy manner. On the eve of the 
Revolution, however, Gluck's lovely 
IphigSnie en Aulis was performed for 
the first time in Paris, when it 
created a tremendous stir, and the 
result was the wide expression of 
discontent with the prevailing stan- 
dards of taste in opera. For Gluck, 
besides composing in an eminently 
simple if not even austere manner — 
alike as regards his instrumentation 
and the contour of his airs — ^tried to 
make his music a reflection, as it 
were, of the drama it accompanied, 
and now the feeling arose among 
many people that this, and this only, 
was true operatic art. Still, the old 
ornate school were not inclined to 
retire immediately before those stand- 
ing out for simplicity, and a fierce 
combat ensued, the one band calling 
themselves Gluckists, the other being- 
known as Piecinists, after Piccini, 



33 > 



OPERA 

the Italian composer, whom they re- 
g^arded as their exemplar. The latter 
school g-radually wavered, and their 
ranks were thinned by onslaugfhts ; so 
here, about the time of the inaugfura- 
tion of the Consulate, was a rare 
opportunity for young and individual 
composers. Many came forward and 
stepped intO' the breach, among- them 
a few Italians, but the greater num- 
ber of French birth ; and N. him- 
self from the first showed marked 
favour for the new school, whose 
deification of form and desire for 
simplicity perforce appealed to his 
strenuous temperament. 

One of the moist important of the 
Italian composers representing the 
novel attitude towards operatic music 
was Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini 
(1779-185 1). Coming to Paris in 
1803, he succeeded after much diffi- 
culty in having his opera of Milton 
staged there in the following year ; 
and, this piece arousing much ad- 
miration, Spontini had the good 
fortune to win the friendship and 
patronage of the Empress Josephine, 
who made him^ "directeur de sa 
musique particuli^re. " Whereas hither- 
to Spontini had had to gain a live- 
lihood by the drudgery of giving 
singing lessons, he was now able 
to devote himself almost exclusively 
to composing; and when his next 
opera. La Vestale, was duly com- 
pleted it was largely through N.'s 
own influence that it found its way 
on to the boards. The Emperor 
also befriended Giovanni Paisiello 
(1741-1816), whose opera of Proser- 
pine was keenly welcomed at Paris 
in 1803 ; but the ablest of all these 
trans-Alpine composers who came to 
the France of Bonaparte was Maria 
Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842). He won 
his first real success on the Parisian 
operatic stage in 1799, that year 
witnessing the production of his two 
pieces, La Punition and La Prison- 
nidre, while in 1800 the French capital 
was delighted by his Deux Joiirnees, 
in the fodlowing year by his Anacreon, 
and >n 1804 by his Achille a Scyros. 
He is hailed to this day by many 
musicians as one of the supreme 
masters of counterpoint ; and his 
finest work was the best immediate 



OPERA 

result, perhaps, of that stand for 
greater simplicity of form spoken of 
above. 

Turning to the French operatic com- 
posers of the time, we may well refer 
first toi Etienne Henri M6hul (1763- 
1817). Previous to the Consulate he 
had set to music a tragedy by Marie 
Joseph Chenier, Timoleon, and this 
he followed soon afterwards with 
various pieces, notably Ariodant, 
Bion, and Joseph, these being suc- 
ceeded later on by Persee et Andra- 
mede. The last-named, however, is 
less an opera than an operetta, or 
ballet ; and to this category belongs 
also Le Retour d'Ulysse, the work of 
Louis Loiseau de Persuis (1769-1819). 
He, nevertheless, composed a large 
quota of actual operas^ — for instance, 
Leonidas and Jerusalem Delivree; 
while he collaborated repeatedly with 
Jean Frangois Lesueur (1760- 1837) — for 
example, in Le Triomphe de Trajan. 
Lesueur himself was one of the most 
prolific and widely admired French 
composers of his day, making his 
name so early as 1793, with Paul et 
Virginie, a dramatized version of the 
familiar story of the same name ; but 
his greatest triumph was won when 
in 1804 his opera of Les Bardes was 
staged at the Academic, known from 
that date onwards as the Academic 
Imp6riale. For this opera is based 
on the legendary poems of Ossian, 
and N. being, as is well known, an 
enthusiastic devotee of these poems, 
he saw fit to reward Lesueur hand- 
somely, this favour naturally serving 
to make the composer still more 
famous than he had been before. 

But although this Ossianic music- 
drama elicited such loud applause, not 
only from Bonaparte but from many 
eminent contemporaneous men of 
letters, it was really "the glory that 
was Greece" and "the grandeur that 
was Rome" that the Parisians of 
Napoleonic times chiefly loved to see 
represented on the operatic stage. 
The most casual reader of the last 
two paragraphs must have observed 
that, of the different pieces cited 
there, the great majority are con- 
cerned with famous classical stories, 
while endless, indeed, were the further 
operas of this particular kind which 



332 



OPORTO 

were welcomed during the Consulate 
and the Empire. The year 1801 saw 
the triumphant staging of Flaminius 
a Corinthe, the joint work of Nicolo 
Isonard and Rudolphe Kreutzer, while 
the latter composer in the same year 
brought out Astyanax and in 1808 
Aristippe; nor should we fail to note 
that six years priior tO' this a distinct 
success had been scored by the S^mir- 
amis of Charles Simon Catel. The list 
might be prolonged almost indefinitely, 
but lack of space prohibits this, and 
we must pause instead tO' note that 
a peculiar interest attaches to the 
taste manifested thus, alike by 
composers and the public who sup- 
ported and acclaimed them. As 
already pointed out, the characteristic 
musicians of Napoleonic France made 
a stand on behalf of simplicity ; they 
demonstrated, as a French historian 
of the operatic art expresses it, "une 
aversion profonde pour ces airs de 
bravoure, et pour ces floritures, dont 
les operas italiens etaient pleins. . . ." 
And it was inevitable that men, pre- 
occupied in this way, should find their 
subject matter chiefly in the great 
stories about the heroes of the antique 
world, these stoiries perforce lending 
themselves well to an austere type 
of music. For, as we have shown 
already, the Empire musicians were 
mostly eager toi weld together the 
music played and the drama enacted, 
making each a reflection of its fellow, 
and so they must be hailed as among 
the direct ancestors of the greatest of 
all modern composers, Wagner, whose 
ruling ambition was nothing less than 
this same welding together of the story 
and the accompanying airs. It is this, 
then — their prefiguring of a sublime 
master — which principally gives the 
"Gluckists" and their immediate 
successors in France their singular 
significance for the present-day 
student of music; while, further- 
more, were not these men the first 
who constituted anything whichi may 
reasonably be called a national school 
of French musicians? 

Oporto, Battle of (Peninsular 
War). —On 29 March 1809, which hap- 
pened to be Good Friday, a French 
Army under Soult defeated the Portu- 
guese outside Oporto and forced their 



OSSIAN 

way into the city. A horrible slaughter 
of the inhabitants followed, hundreds 
of whomi were driven into the river 
and drowned. The Portuguese dead 
numbered several thousands, while the 
French only lost about 500. 

Orthes, Battle of (Peninsular War 
1814). —The French Army, under 
Soult, occupied a strong position, 
with its left resting on the heights 
above Orthes. At daybreak on 
2y Feb. 1814 Wellington with an 
Allied force commenced the action 
by turning Soult's extreme right; he 
then attacked his centre and left wing, 
bearing down the enemy's opposition 
until the whole French Army was 
thrown into confusion and forced to 
fall back, losing about 4,000 men, 
six guns, and a large quantity of 
baggage. The Allies' losses num- 
bered over 2,000. Both sides en- 
gaged about 37,000 troops, the 
French having forty guns and the 
Allies forty-eight. 

Ossian, N.'s interest in.— Many 
of N.'s intimate friends have left some 
written record of his literary tastes, 
and nearly all of them speak of his 
devotion to Ossian, whom he regarded, 
they say, as a far greater poet than 
Homer himself. Scarcely were the 
works of his translator, Macpherson, 
known in France ere they began to> 
awaken wide interest and even en- 
thusiasm there, especially among the 
poets themselves. One of the first of 
these to manifest such interest was 
Antoine Vincent Arnault (1766- 1834), 
who wrote a tragedy based on the 
Ossianic stories; and no doubt it 
was this which chiefly won him the 
marked favour of N., whoi made him 
Secretaire General de I'Universite, 
and conferred on himi several other 
state appointments. Bonaparte also 
showed friendship towards another 
Ossianic enthusiast, the poet Pierre 
Marie Baour-Lx)rmian (1770-1854), who 
issued in 1801 what his biographer 
styles an "imitation brillante des 
l^gendes cal^doniennes ecrite dans le 
gout un peu nuageux de I'epoque " ; 
and when Jean Francois Lesueur 
(1760-1837) produced in 1804 his 
opera, Les Bardes, derived from 
Ossian, he received from the state 
treasury a gift of 6,000 francs, and 



333 



OSTROVNO 

was likewise presented with a valuable 
g-oblet, bearing- the inscription: "To 
the composer of Les Bardes from the 
Emperor Napoleon." 

The Emperor did not signify his 
enthusiasm only in these ways, for 
he liked to have about him pictures 
representing' scenes from the poems. 
Soon after his first taking up his 
abode at the chateau of Malmaison, 
bought by Josephine during- her hus- 
band's absence in Italy, he charg-ed 
the artist Girodet-Trioson (1767- 1824) 
to paint himi a canvas entitled Fingal 
au milieu de ses descendants ; while 
later in his career N. gave an analo- 
gous commission to a far greater 
master, Dominique Ingres. 

Ostrovno, Battle of (Russian 
Campaign). — On 25 July 1812, during 
N.'s advance into- Russia, a sharp 
engagement took place at Ostrovno 
between a Russian corps under 
Ostermann and the Frenchi advance- 
guard under Murat. The latter were 
victorious, and drove the Russians 
back. 

Oudinot, Charles Nicolas, Due 
de Reggio (1767-1847) . — Marshal ; 
was born at Bar-le-duc of bourgeois 
parents, and served as a private in 
the regiment of Medoc for three years. 
In 1787 he retired with the rank of 
sergeant, as owing to his humble birth- 
further promotion seemed impossible. 
After the Revolution in 1792, however, 
he entered the volunteers of the Meuse 
as lieutenant-colonel. Notice was 
drawn to his military qualities by his 
brave defence of Bitsch, in the Vosges, 
and he received a commission in the 
regular army in 1793. In 1794 he was 
raised to the rank of general of brigade 
for gallantry at the battle of Kaisers- 
lautern. He upheld his reputation 
during the Swiss campaign of 1799, 
and became Mass6na's chief of staff. 
He took part in the defence of Genoa, 
and N. presented him with a sword 
of honour in recognition of his ser- 
vices in the battle of Monzambano. 
He later received the position of in- 
spector-general of infantry, and was 
given the grand cross of the Legion 
of Honour. 

In the war of 1805 Oudinot distin- 
guished himself as commander of the 
famous division of the "grenadiers 



OUVRARD 

Oudinot," composed of troops picked 
and trained by himself. With them he 
won the Vienna bridges, was present 
at Hollabriinn, and decisively altered 
the tide of battle at Austerlitz. He 
was appointed toi the governorship of 
Erfurt in 1808, and, after taking part 
in many engagements, for bis conduct 
at Wagram he was piromoted to the 
rank of marshal and made Duke of 
Reggio. From 1810 to 1812 Oudinot 
was governor of Holland, and com- 
manded the II. corps in the Russian 
expedition. He fought gallantly at 
Bautzen, but his want of success in 
the action at Gross Beeren displeased 
the Emperor and he was superseded 
by Ney. 

In 1 81 4, on the abdication of N., 
Oudinot went over to the Royalists, 
was made a peer by Louis XVIII. 
and entrusted with the important 
military government of Metz. Ori the 
return from Elbia he remained faithful 
to the royal cause, and during the 
Hundred Days resisted all N.'s over- 
tures. On the second Restoration he 
was appointed to the chief command 
of the Parisian national g^ard and 
was made minister of state. His last 
military service to France was during 
the invasion of Spain in; 1823, and he 
was for a time governor of Madrid. 
He died on 13 Sept. 1847. 

N. seems to have considered Oudi- 
not's talents to be mediocre, and, in- " 
deed, he made no pretensions to being 
a great commander, yet there is no 
doubt that as an infantry general he 
was ideal. He possessed energy, re- 
solution, skill, a thorough knowledge 
of detail, and was brave to the last 
degree. 

Ouvrard, Gabriel Julien (1770- 
1846). —Banker and financier. Pos- 
sessed of an ingratiating manner, 
Ouvrard never failed to find ready 
tools for his ceaseless scheming. N., 
however, from the first distrusted him, 
and warned Barbd-Marbois, minister 
of the treasury, against too ready an 
acquiescence in his propositions. In 
conjunction with the banker Vanler- 
berghe, Desprez, and other speculators 
and purveyors, Ouvrard floated the 
"Company of United Merchants," 
which engaged in certain speculations 
with Spain and her colonies, a business 



334 



PAINTING 

heavily handicapped by the vigilance 
of British cruisers. Both in Spain and 
France the scheme was well received. 
The company also engaged to make 
advances to the French treasury and 
to provision the army, but the govern- 
ment delayed payment owing to the 
lack of ready money. In this risky 
position Ouvrard appealed to the 
Bank of France, and an agreement 
was made to make advances to them 
by an issue of bank-notes, which, 
however, decreased in value by more 
than ID per cent. Matters were now 
serious, for commercial bill-discount- 
ing was paralysed, trade was of 
necess^ity affected, and several start- 
ling failures followed. Thus through 
this company the treasury and bank 
were vitally affected. The bank was 
affected to the extent of four millions 
sterling, a circumstance which com- 
pelled N. to make a premature peace 
after Austerlitz. The victory had a 
steadying effect at this crisis, but N. 
was enraged, and he wished he could 
build a gallows for Ouvrard high 
enough to be seen by all France. He 
compelled the company to hand over 
all it possessed, Ouvrard 's calm and 
engaging manner availing him no- 
thing, while Barb6-Marbois was dis- 
missed and Mollien appointed in Ms 
place. Ouvrard, moreover, was em- 
ployed by Fouche in those astonishing 
negotiations for peace with England 
entered into on his own initiative, a 
proceeding which made N. furious and 
brought Fouche nearer to destruction 
than he had been even during the 
Revolution. As it was he was dis- 
graced, and Ouvrard again fell under 
the Emperor's wrath. Mme. Tallien 
{q.v.) was at one time Ouvrard's 
mistress, and doubtless many of his 
financial schemes were worked in 
connexion with that lady's father, 
Cabarrus, the Spanish banker. 



Painting: Under Napoleon. — 

France is essentially the country of 
artistic movements or revolutions. In 
other lands the arts have undergone 
changes from time to time, but no- 



PAINTING 

where have these changes been so 
marked as in France, nowhere else 
have groups of artists banded them- 
selves together with so much en- 
thusiasm, striving toi subvert the 
existing regime and to create a new 
tradition in aesthetics. The sixteenth 
century witnessed a distinct revolt in 
French poetry, Ronsard being the 
leader on this occasion; while Victor 
Hugo and that ecole roniantique who 
rallied round him created a very 
turmoil in Paris at the beginning of 
the nineteenth century. Since then 
French literature has been stirred by 
the symbolist movement, while paint- 
ing has been convulsed, first by the 
impressionists under Monet, Renoir, 
and Degas, then by the post-impres- 
sionists under C6zanne, Gauguin, and 
van Gogh; but none of these little 
revolutions stands outJ quite sO' clearly 
as the movement made in the graphic 
arts in the France of N.'s day, no 
former upheaval was quite so definite 
in its aims as thisi one. 

For almost all the representative 
painters of N.'s time, stigmatizing the 
graceful manner of Boucher and his 
confreres as utterly trivial, sought tO' 
sweep it away in favour of a hard, 
precise and austere style; and to 
illustrate this we may note that 
Mme. Vig6e le Brun, at the start 
of her career, painted in a fashion 
approximating that of the Boucher 
school, but ere she had been at work 
for long she was swept into the new 
current and began to paint in the 
characteristic Empire style. Who, 
then, induced this chief luminary of 
wo'men painters to take this step? 
And who created the ideals of the 
Napoleonic artists in general? These 
are questions which inhibit a sweeping 
answer ; yet the name of Louis David 
(1748-1825) may be cited in this rela- 
tion, for David was certainly regarded 
as leader by the other moving spirits. 
His portraits in the Louvre of Seriziat 
and) Mme. Recamier are very symbols 
of the style of painting beloved during 
the Empire, while if we waive cer- 
tain things by Prud'hon (1758-1823), 
notably his two studies of Psyche 
and his lovely drawing of Andro- 
mache embracing Astyanax, these 
works by David may be hailed as 



335 



PAINTING 

the crown of their period's artistic 
output. 

It can hardly be questioned that N. 
himself admired the new tendencies 
manifested in art duringf his time. A 
g'enuine lover of painting, among his 
first acts after conquering Italy was 
toi seize upon a fine collection of old 
pictures there, yet along with this de- 
votion to bygone masters he showed a 
real interest in the artists of his own 
time. In fact, there is scarcely a 
notable man among these whose name 
is not in some way associated with the 
Emperor's, while he strove to help 
them by suggesting the inception of 
a periodical dealing exclusively with 
aesthetics, his idea being that this 
would give cointemporary art a justice 
it does not usually receive from the 
critics of the ordinary press. This was 
a shrewd contention, and a fine taste 
was shown by the imperial connoisseur 
when early in his life he charged 
Dominique Ingres {1780- 1867) to paint 
his portrait, while it should be noted 
that the giving of this commissiom 
reflects the greater credit on Bonaparte 
in that at this time the artist was still 
a young man, known only to a few 
people. Nor did the Emperor's wise 
patronage of Ingres end here, for he 
also called on him. toi paint a picture 
illustrating scenes from the Ossianic 
poems, this work on completion being 
placed in N.'s own bedroom at the 
palace of Montebelloi. Yet Bonaparte's 
prime favourite among the painters of 
his day was assuredly David, and! he 
in his turn appears to have idolized his 
imperial patron. Having painted several 
portraits of N., notably one showing 
the hero leading his troops across 
the Alps, David was created painter 
in ordinary to the Emperor, and in this 
capacity he painted many h,uge genre 
plieces, in particular The Coronation 
of Napoleon and The Distribution of 
the Eagles. Another artist whom N. 
favoured was Gerard (i 770-1 837), 
whose portraits include one of Marie 
Letitia Buonaparte, the Emperor's 
mother ; while yet another protSgi 
was Gros (i 771 -1835), whoi, made a 
baron and given many further 
honours, depicted the martial suc- 
cesses of the time in picture after 
picture. His ablest work, perhaps, is 



PAINTING 

his Napoleon at Arcole, yet it was 
with hisi Plague-stricken at Jaffa that 
he won his greatest triumph, for this 
work, when originally exhibited at the 
Salon in 1804, was hung round with 
laurel and palm, and was purchased 
by the state for 16,000 francs, in those 
days considered a huge price. Accord- 
ing to some writers, Gros owed much 
of his success and fame to Josephine, 
who, early recognizing the artist's 
talent, spoke of the matter to her 
husband ; and be that as it may, the 
Empress had as sound taste as the 
Emperor. Showing a keen interest 
in Isabey (1767- 1859), that rare expert 
in miniature painting whose array of 
Napoleonic celebrities is among the 
chief treasures of the Wallace Collec- 
tion, Josephine also' had the wisdom 
to realize the genius of Prud'hon, one 
of whose finest works is a full-length 
likeness of his patroness. 

The topic of N.'s portraiture having 
been treated in a separate article, it 
is not necessary tO' say more here 
about the various portrait painters 
whom the Emperor favoured ; but it 
may be interesting to inquire whether, 
apart from' this and apart from his 
commissioning battle pictures and the 
like, Bonaparte really influenced the 
art of his day, and after pondering 
for a while on this question we are 
constrained to answer with an em- 
phatic affirmative. For N.'s military 
ardour, together with the general style 
of his rule, tended to foster a certain 
spirit of strenuousnessi in French 
thought which, comparatively absent 
in the days of Louis, began toi show 
itself shortly before the Revolution, 
ultimately proving instrumental in 
begetting that event ; and this new 
aspirational spirit was largely re- 
sponsible, noi doubt, for the endeavour 
toi subvert the pleasing Boucher style 
in favour of an austere one. The 
tradition created by David soon with- 
ered. This artist's school, becoming 
ideologist, commenced declaring that 
beauty consists in nothing more or 
less than flawless eurythmy, a quality 
which they went so far as tO' maintain 
can be achieved by deliberate calcula- 
tion, along with a sound knowledge of 
the antique; and, on a new generation 
of artists coming into beings — the icole 



336 



PAJOL 

romantique — these contended loudly 
that art was being degraded into a 
science, while conoomitantly they 
deified the naive expression of in- 
dividuality at all costs. For a while 
the fight between the different parties 
waged fiercely, but, David having to 
flee from Paris on the restoration of 
the Bourbons, the Empire school found 
themselves without a leader, their 
defence beginning to waver accord- 
ingly; and once, in 1824, Gros ex- 
claimed to Gerard pathetically that now 
nothing could; withstand the oncoming 
tides of romanticism. Nine years later 
Gros himself made a gallant stand, 
exhibiting at the Salon a picture 
characteristic of Empire art ; and, so 
keenly was this work hooted by the 
new school that the veteran artist 
sought surcease by drowning himself 
in the Seine. Thus dramatically ended 
the Napoleonic group of painters, men 
who had often gone tO' extremes in 
devotion to their central aim, but who 
had attained a deal of lofty work. 
And, granting that the immortal Ingres 
belongs rather to the ecole romantique 
than to the Empire coterie, the names 
of David and Isabey, Gros, Vigie le 
Brun and Gerard are not likely tc be 
forgotten for many a long day ; while 
in truth there are signs at the present 
moment that, at no' very distant date, 
a manner approiximatinig that of these 
artists is likely toi dominate French 
painting for a while. 

Pajol, Claude Pierre, Comte 
(1772-1844). — A famous leader of 
cavalry ; was born at Besangon in 
1772, the son of an advocate. He also 
was intended for the legal profession, 
but the outbreak of the Revolution 
turned his ambitions in another direc- 
tion, and he joined the battalion at 
Besan9on, taking an active part in the 
political developments of 1789. In 
1791 he went with a volunteer battalion 
to join the army of the upper Rhine, 
and in 1792 saw active service in the 
campaign of that year, while in 1793 
he Wias one of the besieging force at 
Hochheim. He now left Custine's 
staff for that of Kl^ber, under whom 
he served in the campaigns of 1794-6. 
During the years 1797 and 1799 he 
was with Hoche and Massena in Ger- 
many and Switzerland, and after this 



PALM 

he held a cavalry command under 
Moreau in the campaign of the upper 
Rhine, becoming a colonel soon after- 
wards. He was next more peacefully 
employed as envoy to the Batavian 
republic and delegate at N.'s corona- 
tion, but in 1805 he was again in the 
field under the Emperor in comm.and 
of light cavalry, and distinguished him- 
self at Austerlitz. After this he served 
for a short time in Italy, but just 
before the Friedland campaign he re- 
joined N.'s army as general of brigade. 
In 1808 Pajol was created a baron of 
the empire; in 1809 he served in the 
Danube operations; and in 1812 was 
in command of a division and later a 
coirp'S in the Russian campaign. Dur- 
ing the retreat he played a notable 
part, but his health suffered from the 
exertions and exposure of that disas- 
trous expedition. He was present at 
Dresden, however, taking a con- 
spicuous part in that battle, while in 
1 8 14 he was put in command of a corps 
composed of infantry as well as cavalry 
in the Seine valley. After N.'s first 
abdication Pajol took the oath of 
allegiance to the Bourbon monarch, 
but on N.'s return from Elba he imme- 
diately joined his old master. In 1815, 
at Ligny and in the advance on Wavre 
under Grouchy, Pajol's corps of 
cavalry played a prominent part, and 
on the news of the defeat at Waterloo 
he showed' great skill in hisi retreat to 
Paris, bringing his corps safely and 
unbeaten to' the capital, where they 
took an active part in the closing 
events of the war. Pajol was simply 
dismissed by the Bourbons, being 
fortunate in escaping the fate of Ney 
and Lab6doy^re. In 1830 his part was 
not smiall in the overthrow of 
Charles X., and from 183 1-2, also in 
1834 and 1839, he rigorously repressed 
the insurrections in Paris. He was 
created a peer of France and retired 
in 1842, his death taking place in 1844. 
Palm.— A bookseller of Nuremberg, 
who was arrested by French officers 
for selling an anonymous pamphlet 
entitled "Germany in her deep 
Humiliation," and after a summary 
trial by martial law at Braunau was 
shot by order of N. on 25 Aug. 1806. 
This outrage excited the most pro- 
found indignation in Germany, and has 



w 



337 



PAOLI 

been reg-arded as the Emperor's 
g^reatest political blunder. 

Paoli, Pasquale (1725-1807).— 

Corsican patriot and general ; was born 
at Stretta, iin the parish of Rostino, 
Corsica, the son of Giaciuto Paoli and 
younger brother of Clemente. His 
father, orig'inally a physician, had dis- 
tinguished himself !in the War of 
Independence, and the name Paoli had 
become enshrined in the hearts of the 
fierce Corsicansi as a symbol of 
patriotismi and valour. Pasquale 
Paoli was destined toi make the name 
world-famous as a patriot of the 
highest type and also " as one of the 
greatest practical humanists of the 
eighteenth century, who sought to 
realize their principles as legislators 
and regulators of the body politic." It 
was Paoli who was the ardently wor- 
shipped hero of N.'s youth; Paoli, the 
deliverer of his beloved Corsica, the 
friend of his father. So great was 
this hero-worship that for long- the boy 
could scarce forgive his father for not 
having followed Paoli into exile, for 
having taken the oath of allegiance as 
a French subject. Later N. himself 
was to follow much the same course. 
When Pasquale was about fourteen 
years of age he proceeded to Naples, 
following his father into exile. There 
he was carefully educated under the 
foremost professors of the city, notably 
Genovesi, from whom Paoli imbibed 
many of those enlightened prindiples 
which in after years he soug^ht so 
strenuously to realize. He also entered 
the Neapolitan service, serving with 
distinction. On the assassination of 
Gaffori, the Corsicans, torn by 
ambitions and rivalries, found it im- 
possible toi elect a leader. Among- the 
ooundil was Clemente Paoli, who, 
seeking some way out of the impasse, 
sugg-ested that their choice should fall 
upon his young- brother Pasquale, since 
being personally unknown in the island 
he had neither enemies nor partisans, 
yet bearing a name that was a 
g-uarantee of good faith and patriotism. 
In 1755, therefore, Paoli was invited 
to a conference, and true to family 
tradition gladly answered the call, 
though in so doing- he relinquished a 
career full of promise. Elected as 
commander-in-chief and invested with 



PAOLI 

the powers of a dictator, Paoli was 
faced with a colossal task, for Corsica 
was torn by anarchy and almost sub- 
merged beneath the burden of misery. 
But like all g-reat men, the seemingly 
impossible was simply his opportunity. 
As general he drove the Genoese froim 
the island, with the exception of a few 
coast towns, by a series of successful 
actions ; as leg'islator he reorganized 
the government, fallen intoi a chaotic 
condition, instituted numerous reforms, 
introduced educational systems and 
founded a university at Corte, among- 
the students beings Carlo Buonaparte 
(q-v.), the father of N. He made the 
laws feared and even curbed that 
terrible institution the vendetta, meting 
out the deathi penalty in several cases, 
once even toi a relative of his own. 
The changes he effected in a com- 
paratively short space of time were 
phenomenal, and under his rule Cor- 
sica knew a confidence, a peace and 
sense of national unity which before 
had been foreign to' her. 

In 1767 Paoli seized the island of 
Capraia from the Genoese, who, now 
despairiing- of ever again subjugating- 
Corsica, sold their rig-hts over it to 
France. After varying- dispositions 
and delays the treaty was sig-ned at 
Versailles (15 May 1768), by which 
France agreed toi pay Genoa the sum 
of ;^8o,ooo as the price of the island. 
Menaced by this danger, Paoli made 
appeal to the sovereigns of Europe, 
who, sympathetic asi they professed to 
be with the strug-gle for independence, 
yet rendered no help'. Supported by 
his people, Paoli now entered on a 
desperate resistance against this new 
invader, who, after several defeats, 
soug-ht by hrlibes to enooimpass the 
death of the Corsican leader. For two 
years the conflict rag-ed, and thougli 
the Corsicans might be, as indeed they 
were, the bravest of the brave, yet 
many saw that the French conquest 
was inevitable. The war proving- 
costly, France determined to end it as 
quickly as possible. On 8 May 1769 
the decis^ive battle of Ponte Nuovo was 
fought. Paoli escaped, however, with 
three hundred and fifty Corsicans, and 
took refuge in Leghorn. Subse- 
quently he journeyed to London, where 
he was to live in exile for twenty years. 



338 



PAOLI 

Thus Paoli and Corsica became the 
centre of world-wide interest, and these 
strugg'les for freedo'm were sung- by 
poets and praised by thinkers. 

In 1790, when the French Revolu- 
tion broke out, the Corsicans sent a 
deputation to Paoli asking- him to 
return, and the French National 
Assembly, hailing- him as the heroi and 
martyr of liberty, invited him toi visit 
Paris. On 8 April he was received 
at court by the King* and Queen and 
princes; he appeared, together with 
the Corsican delegates sent to meet 
him, before the National Assembly, 
being greeted by acclamations ; he was 
beside Lafayette as the hero of the 
day at a g-reat review in the Champ de 
Mars, and finally attended a reception 
organized in bis honour by the Societe 
des Amis de la Constitution, presided 
over by Robespierre. He now pro- 
ceeded to Corsica, where a troublous 
and harassing time awaited him. Two 
factions existed in the island — the 
patriots and those whoi supported 
French rule and ideas. It was at this 
time that Paoli met N., son of his 
one-time secretary and follower. At 
first N. was a burning patriot, but 
under the stress of ambition he joined 
the French party. With his brothers 
Joseph {q.v.) and Lucien [q.v.) N. took 
part in the national movements and 
councils, but by their methods and in- 
trigues they became suspect. Paoli 
grew cold toward the brothers, refus- 
ing to employ Lucien as secretary, a 
refusal which was repaid by such 
active animosity that finally Paoli was 
accused of treason and summoned 
before the Convention. Even so Paoli 
was then, as always, an admirer of N., 
and said td the young' man, " You are 
on the ancient model. You are one of 
Plutarch's men." 

Revolted by the excesses of the 
Revolutionary government, faced also 
by the ominous summons of the Con- 
vention, Paoli summoned an assembly 
at Corte (1793), with himself as presi- 
dent and formally seceded from France, 
offering the suzerainty of the island 
to the British Government. Admiral 
Hood, in command of the English fleet, 
sailed to his help, and after some sharp 
encounters Corsica was left in the 
hands of Paoli and the English. These 



PARAVICINI 

new allies, however, were not content 
with the mere right of protection, but 
laid claim to the sovereignty of Cor- 
sica. The Corsicans declared their 
willingness to this procedure, but 
stipulated that their country must 
retain its independent existence and be 
governed by a viceroy according to its 
own oomstitution. These negotiations 
caused a breach between Paoli and 
Pozzoi di Borgo [q.'v.), the latter hav- 
ing been won over by the English 
representative. Sir Gilbert Elliot, who 
was appointed viceroy despite Paoli 's 
undoubted right to this position and 
his greater capacity for governing a 
people he so thoroughly understood, 
whereas Elliot, a foreigner, made many 
and irremediable errors. Paoli retired 
intO' private life, and the viceroy, to 
prevent factions, procured his removal 
from Corsica. Paoli was invited to 
London, to pass the remainder of his 
days in honour at court, a polite and 
euphemistic order of exile. He retired 
to London in 1796, and was there 
granted a pension, Corsica meanwhile 
levolting under the perverse and 
ignorant rule of Elliot, and, after the 
expedition sent there in 1796 by N., 
returning to the suzerainty of France. 
Paoli, who dwelt twelve years longer 
in exile, lived to see the empire of N., 
and rejoiced at the fame of his country- 
man. In a letter he said, "Napoleon 
has accomplished our vendetta on all 
those who have been the cause of our 
fall." At the age of eighty-two Paoli 
died in London on 5 Feb. 1807, and 
was buried with great honour at St. 
Pancras. 

Paravicini, Geltruda or Ger- 
truda, nee Buonaparte (1741 - 88).— 
The sister of Carlo Buonaparte; was 
born at Ajaccio in 1741, and baptized 
on 25 Nov. of that year. She married 
Nicolo Paravicini, her first cousin, on 
25 June 1763. She was one of N.'s 
godparents together with Lorenzo 
Giubega. This aunt, the "Zia 
Gertrude" of N.'s youthful letters, 
was a second mother to the children 
of her brother, and her strong and 
spirited personality made a great im- 
pression upon them. Joseph mentions 
her with much feeling in his memoirs 
and Lucien also records the high 
opinion, expressed in laudatory terms, 



3.39 



PARIS 

his mother Letizia held of her sister- 
in-law. She died in 1788, leaving^ no 
issue. 

Paris, Battle of. — Towards the 
end of March 1814 the Allies deter- 
mined to march on Paris, and on the 
3othi of the month coimmenced an 
assault. Marmont and Mortier on the 
Montmartre heights fougfht bravely for 
several hours, but seeing- further 
defence would be useless and only 
expose the city tO' a risk of pillage, 
Marmont withdrew, and on the 31st 
the Allies entered Paris in triumph. 

Paris N.'s Embellishment of.— 
Early m the Consulate N. conceived 
the idea of making Paris the most 
beautiful and populous clity in the 
world, and throughout his reign, in 
the midst of the huge demand upon 
his time and interests, he kept this 
project and its gradual working out 
always in view. Whatever were his 
political motives, which critics always 
hasten to represent as Machiavellian, 
a love of art and beauty was ever 
present toi N., as his history shows 
beyond a doubt. Paris therefore owes 
much to the great Emperor. First of 
all, with his grip of the practical, he 
saw to' the providing of food by the 
building of great storehouses, and to 
the water supply by the bringing of 
water from the river Ourcq to Paris. 
The following conversation of N. with 
Chaptal is of interest. He said : "I 
intend tO' make Paris the most beautiful 
capital in the world. I wish that in 
ten years it sho'uld number three 
millions of inhabitants. "But," re- 
plied his minister of the interior, "one 
cannot improvize population " ; and 
he then instanced the want of good 
drinking water. "Well, what are your 
plans for supplying Paris with water? " 
Chaptal gave two alternatives^ — 
artesian wells or the bringing of water 
from the river Ourcq. "I adopt the 
latter plan : gO' home and order 500 
men to set toi work to-morrow at La 
Villette to^ dig the canal." This was 
done, and the work cost half a million 
sterling. 

Paris owes her proud position as 
mistress of the world's culture largely 
to her possession of the Louvre, and 
this in its turn owes nearly all to N. 
and his idea of gathering the national 



PATTERSON 

treasures in a central and worthy 
building. In the first year of his reign 
the Emperor ordered the building of 
the galleries to connect the Tuileries 
with the Louvre, making the magnifi- 
cent fafade to the Rue de Rivoli. The 
expense was immense, but, careful in 
all expenditure, he spared nothing in 
the sums spent on public works, so 
long as his project was carried out 
and the workmen of the city employed. 
The Lonvre was unfinished in 181 4, 
but Napoleon II L completed it. 
Splendid thoroughfares were laid 
down ; the bridges of Austerlitz, of 
Jena, and the Arts were built; the 
quays of the Seine greatly extended. 
In the centre of the Place Vendome 
N. ra!ised the Vendome Column {q.v.) 
in honour of his army, and for the 
same object the Arc de Triomphe de 
I'Etoile (q-'v.) spanning the Champs 
Elysees. The restoration of the 
cathedral of St. Denis, the Temple of 
Victory (architect Pierre Vignon), now 
the church of the Madeleine, the pedi- 
ment of the Pan th ton, the work of 
David of Angers, all belong to N.'s 
reign. Ihe Jardin des Plantes was 
also improved and other parks and 
open spaces given to the city. Edu- 
cational establishments were in- 
augurated, buildings provided for 
them, and the Conservatoire of Arts 
and Trades was completed. These are 
the outstanding items of Paris' debt 
to the Emperor. 

Parsdorf, Convention of (15 July 
1800). —This convention was con- 
cluded between France and Austria. 
The conditions were (i) hostilities in 
Germany to be indefinitely suspended ; 
(2) the French to occupy Bavaria west 
of the Isar as far as Ratisbon in one 
direction and Munich in the other. 

Patterson, Elizabeth(1785-1879). 
— Daughter of William Patterson, a 
Baltimore merchant, and the first wife 
of Jerome Bonaparte, the youngest 
brother of N. The family is thought 
to have descended from the Robert 
Paterson, whoi was the original of Sir 
Walter Scott's "Old Mortality." 
When Jerome, after being blockaded 
by the British in the West Indies, left 
his ship and travelled through the 
United States, he stayed for a while 
at Baltimore, and there met Miss 



340 



PAUL 

Patterson, with whomi he fell violently 
in ioive and married om 24 Dec. 1803 
though still a minor. In the marriage 
settlements may be seen that William 
Patterson quite understood the possi- 
bility of difficulties being placed in 
the way of his daughter. The mar- 
riage incensed N., and when Jerome 
and his wife returned to France in 1805 
she was excluded by his command, the 
Emperor refusing tO' recognize the 
legality of the union, though it was 
valid according to American law. 
Pope Pius VII. refused to declare it 
void, but N. annulled it by an imperial 
decree in 1807. At first Jerome had 
rebelled and refused to renounce his 
wife, but at last gave way before his 
brother's dominating will. On being 
excluded from France, Mme. Jerome 
Bonaparte landed in England and 
resided for a while at Camberwell, 
where she gave birth to a son, Jerome 
Napoleon (q.v.) in 1805. She returned 
to Baltimore, where in her ninety-fifth 
year she died in 1879. 

Paul I. (1754-1801).— Tsar of 
Russia — ^the second son of Peter III. 
and Catherine II. ; his childhood was 
shadowed by the tragic death of his 
father. He was put under the care of 
a governor and competent tutors, but 
the court of Russia at that time must 
have been a bad environment for the 
lad, whose nature, though affectionate 
and in a way generous, was exceed- 
ingly prone to passion, erratic, and 
sometimes even cruel. In 1773 he was 
married to Wilhelmina of Darmstadt, 
and Catherine permitted his attendance 
at the council in order that he might 
becoime familiar with its work. About 
this time Paul became obsessed with 
the idea that his mother desired his 
death, and indeed Catherine, towards 
the clo'se of her life, seeing that Paul's 
mind was in danger of giving way, 
seriously considered his removal from 
the succession. In 1775, his first wife 
having died, a marriage was arranged 
between him and Sophia Dorothea of 
Wiirttemburg (Maria Feodorovna), but 
his character was gradually deteriorat- 
ing and his wife's life became a 
misery to her. On the death of his 
mo'ther, Paul duly ascended the throne 
in 1796. Twoi years later the Tsar's 
efforts brought about the Second 



PENINSULAR 

Coalition against France, and he sent 
an army of 56,000 men into Italy 
under Suvarov. Annoyed by certain 
actions of Britain and Austria, Paul 
withdrew from the Coalition in the 
following year, and became until his 
death a great admirer and adherent 
of N. The latter, fully aware of the 
advantages of such an alliance, did 
everything in his power toi cement the 
friendship. In 1800 the Tsar entered 
the Second Armed Neutrality against 
the British dominion of the seas, and 
threw himself enthusiastically into the 
plans for a Franco^Russian invasion 
of Egypt. Much discontent meanwhile 
prevailed amongst his subjects, whom 
he irritated by vexatious regulations 
and governed in a most despotic 
fashion. Authorities differ as to the 
sanity or otherwise of Paul during his 
reign, but his actions seem to- point tO' 
an unbalanced mind. A conspiracy 
was set on foot to| compass his death, 
or at least his abdication, and in 
March 1801 this came to a head. After 
supping and while still under the in- 
fluence of drink, a band of officers, 
led by Bennigsen, broke into the 
Tsar's bedroo'm, and, dragging him- to 
a table, endeavoured tO' force him to 
sign an abdication ; and on his ex- 
postulating he wasi struck by a sword 
and afterwards strangled. Las Cases 
in his memoirs tells how N., when 
talking of the passions which over- 
came Paul on certain occasions when 
England's perfidy to' him was dis- 
closed, said : " If it be a folly, it must 
be allowed that it is the folly of a 
noble soul ; it is the indignation of 
virtue which was incapablei until then 
of suspecting such baseness. I had," 
continued the Emperor, "hit upon the 
bent of Paul's character. . . . From 
that instant his generous heart was 
altogether devoted to me ; and as I 
had no interest in opposition to 
Russia, and should never have spoken 
or acted but with justice, there was no 
doubt that I should be able for the 
future to have had the cabinet of St. 
Petersburg at my disposal. Our 
enemies were sensible of the danger, 
and it has been thought that this good- 
will of Paul proved fatal to him." 

Peninsular War (1808-14).— 
Towards the end of 1807 N. negotiated 



341 



PENINSULAR 

a secret treaty with Spain, by which 
Charles IV., the monarch of that 
country, ag-reed to permit the passage 
of the French Army towards Portugal, 
the seaports of which he desired to 
close to British trade. A further con- 
dition of the treaty was that Portug-al 
was tO' be divided between France and 
Spain, and that Alg^arve was to be 
formed as a principality for Godoy, 
the Spanish minister. As Portugal 
had announced her intention of refus- 
ings to- comply with the Firench 
demands, Junot was at once dispatched 
to Lisbon with 30,000 men, who 
speedily occupied the coimtry. At that 
time the bulk of the Portuguese forces 
were scattered throughout the colonies, 
so that little defence could be made. 
In. a short time there were 100,000 
French soldiers in Spain, and Murat 
entering- Madrid took up his head- 
quarters there. The frontier fortresses 
were seized, and practically the whole 
peninsula lay at the mercy of the 
Emperor. The people of Spain, scent- 
ing treachery on the part of their king- 
and Godoy, forced Charles to abdicate 
in favour of his son Ferdinand, whom 
N. refused to recognize. A council 
of regency was commissioned, which 
in all probability was heavily bribed. 
It "desired" N. to create his brother, 
Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, and 
to this request he acceded. But the 
eyes of the Spanish and Portuguese 
were now wholly opened, and as one 
man they rose ag^ainst the French. 
Appeals for assistance were made to 
Britain by the various Juntas ; Canning 
readily agreed, and the dispatch 
of a British force to Spain was 
resolved upon. By this time the 
French had occupied the country in 
force. Bessi^res, Dupont, and Moncey 
were in occupation of Navarre, Castile, 
Biscay, and Aragon, and Dupont had 
marched from. Madrid for the purpose 
of reducing Cadiz and Seville. The 
Spaniards could muster nearly 100,000 
regulars and militia, but these were 
without organization or leaders. 
Dupont, marching upon Cadiz in June 
of 1808, had sacked Cordova and was 
moving off with the loot he had col- 
lected from the city, when Castanos 
with 30,000 men, reinforced by 
numbers of peasants, surrounded him 



PENINSULAR 

at Baylen, and he was forced to 
capitulate with over 20,000 men. This 
check, as well as the wonderful defence 
of Saragossa by Palafox, served to 
diminishi the glory of the French arms 
and greatly assisted the Sp^anish 
morale. Duhesme also found himself 
shut up in Barcelona, Joseph had fled 
froim Madrid, and the French had con- 
siderable difficulty in maintaining their 
communications. The British troops 
were posted in the direction of Lisbon 
and Cadiz for the purpose of securing 
these ports, the object being to follow 
the course of the principal rivers into 
the centre of the country. Sir Arthur 
Wellesley, who was the first in chief 
command, broug-ht 9,000 men, 5,000 
had been sent from Gibraltar under 
Spencer, and 10,000 under Sir John 
Moore arrived from Sweden. Welles- 
ley and Moore operated in Portugal 
and Spencer near Cadiz ; but the latter 
soon joined Wellesley, enabled to do 
so by the check at Baylen. The com- 
bined forces first attacked Delaborde 
at Roli9a on 17 Aug. 1808, driving 
him from his positions with the loss 
of a few guns. Occupying- the heights 
of Vimiera, Wellesley found his hand 
held by instructions to wait for the 
approach of Sir John Moore; but on 
the 2 1st he was attacked by Junot. 
He had now nearly 18,000 men under 
his command, the French numbering 
about 14,000. The Allies, by well 
directed volleys and spirited bayonet 
charges, drove Junot off the Lisbon 
road, losing about 1,800 men to the 
French 2,000 and 13 guns. Once more 
Wellesley desired to advance with the 
object of seizing Torres Vedras, but 
by this time Sir Hew Dalrymple had 
assumed command, and he disagreed 
with the proposal. Junot, foreseeing a 
popular revolt in Lisbon and well 
knowing- that Moore with a consider- 
able force was close at hand, made 
representations to the Allies, with the 
result that the Convention of Cintra 
(which, however, was signed at 
Lisbon) was agreed to on 30 Aug., 
under the provisions of which the 
French evacuated Portugal on the con- 
dition that they were allowed toi return 
to France. There was dissatisfaction 
regarding- the provisions of the con- 
vention in London, and Wellesley, 



342 



PENINSULAR 

Dalrymple and Burrard were arraigned 
before a court of inquiry there, which, 
however, entirely acquitted them. On 
their departure fro^m the peninsula 
Moore had assumed entire command of 
over 30,000 men. 

Moore was now instructed that 
10,000 men were being sent tO' rein- 
force him under Sir David Baird, 
whom he was tO' join for the purpose 
of acting along with the Spanish 
forces. At this time (Oct.), as Moore 
left Lisbon tO' carry out his orders. 



PENINSULAR 

sea, and, understanding that his march 
northwards would be masked by the 
Spanish armies, he conducted his 
advance by land. He dispatched Sir 
John Hope with the cavalry, artillery, 
and reserve ammunition south of the 
Tagus, ordering him to make a wide 
detour by way of Madrid and the 
Escurial Pass, while he himself pushed 
oil in the direction of Salamanca. 
Baird was toi march southwards 
through Galicia to effect a junction 
with him, and the whole army was 



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the French] were entrenched behind 
the river Ebroi; Ney was at Logrono, 
Moncey near Pampeluna, and Bessi^res 
near Vittoria, the entire French force 
in Spain, including the men in the 
garrisons, being about 75,000 men. 
As regards the Spanish disposition, 
PalafO'X with 20,000 was in the vidinity 
of Saragossa, Castanos with 34,000 
men was opposing Ney, Blake with 
32,000 was near Reynosa, while 
reserves were assembled at Talavera 
and Cordova. Madrid was also in 
Spanish hands. Moore saw the hope- 
lessness of attempting toi join Baird by 



to concentrate at some point in the 
vicinity of Valladolid, but the great 
increase of the French forces, which 
now numbered nearly 200,000 men, 
entirely altered the situation. Every- 
where the Spaniards fell back before 
them. Blake, Castanos, Reynosa, and 
other leaders were all defeated at the 
end of Oct. or the beginning of Nov., 
and by the time Moore had reached 
Salamanca and Baird was at Astorga, 
French troops were occupying the 
point where he had hoped to effect a 
junction with Baird. He ordered 
Baird to fall back on Galicia, and 



343 



PENINSULAR 

Hope with the artillery and cavalry 
on Portugal, but after mature oon- 
sideratioin he resolved to attack N.'s 
communications with France. Hope 
succeeded in rejoining" him as he re- 
ceived news that N., who had arrived 
in Spain in Nov., had taken Madrid 
on 2 Dec. and that the French were 
pressing on towards Lisbon and 
Andalusia. The Emperor was, how- 
ever, unaware of Moore's whereabouts, 
and the latter discovering that Soult's 
corps had for some reason been left in 
an isolated position, decided toi attack 
it. He ordered up transports from 
Lisbon to Corunna, making that his 
base of retreat in case of necessity, 
and getting in touch with the Spanish 
under Blake, agreed to co-operate 
with him. He effected a junction with 
Baird at Mayorga on 20 Dec, and at 
Sahagun a picturesque cavalry fight 
took place in which the British hussar 
brigade covered itself with glory. But 
Moore learned that overwhelming 
French forces were approaching in his 
direction, so he retreated across the 
river Esla. The Emperor had ordered 
Soult to cut him off from Galidia, and 
with 50,000 men was himself marching 
from Madrid, pushing through the 
snow-covered pass of Escurial in the 
attempt to cut Moore off ; but, probably 
recognizing that Moore's forces were 
too small to cause him serious uneasi- 
ness, he turned back with most of his 
army towards France, leaving Soult 
with over 40,000 men to follow the 
British retreat. N. left Valladolid on 
17 Jan. 1809, and arrived in Paris on 
the 22nd. The famous retreat to 
Corunna, undertaken in the depth of 
winter and in circumstances most 
galling to the morale of the British 
Army, necessitated in its commander 
the greatest gifts of firmness, discipline, 
and military tact ; but Moore, in spite 
of a thousand difficulties, succeeded in 
reaching Corunnaj on 11 Jan. 1809, 
where he took up a position across 
the Lugo road. Three days after his 
arrival at Corunna the transports he 
w^as looking for entered the harbour, 
and on the i6th he was attacked by 
Soult With 20,000 men and forty guns. 
To combat this force he had 15,000 
men and nine guns, which were almost 
worse than useless, so light were they 



PENINSULAR 

in calibre. The British position was 
maintained, and a counter-attack was 
in process of being delivered when 
Moore fell mortally wounded. Baird 
also was placed out of action, and 
Hope, who was now in chief command, 
considered it wise tO' embark the army. 
The casualties in this battle were on 
the British side about 1,000, and on 
the French nearly twice as many. 
The landing in England of the troops 
without overcoats, and in many cases 
without boots, raised much diverse 
comment upon Moore's conduct, but 
this quickly died down when the facts 
of his truly heroic leadership came to 
light, for with 30,000 men he had 
rendered it impossible for N. with 
ten times as many to seize Portugal 
and Andalusia. 

Wellesley returned toi Lisbon on 
22 April 1809. N. in Paris had now 
decided upon a course of campaign. 
Soult was toi advance upon Oporto and 
Lisbon, and Victor on Badajos and 
Cadiz. Soult had already gained one 
of his objectives by the taking of 
OportO', but he was menaced by the 
Portuguese and asked for reinforce- 
ments. Victor had inflicted a defeat 
on Cuesta at Medellin on 28 March, 
but he was also menaced by guerilla 
forces. Soult had over 20,000 men to 
his credit and Victor 30,000 ; the 
British forces all told were somewhere 
in the neighbourhood of 25,000. The 
Portuguese regulars {16,000) were near 
Thomar. General Beresford, who had 
been detailed for that work, had suc- 
ceeded in organizing and training the 
Portuguese levies intO' some semblance 
of military usefulness. Catalonians 
whoi had been beaten were in Tarra- 
gona ; but a Spanish junta had been 
formed which nominally, at least, could 
assemble about 100,000 men. Its mem- 
bers were very suspicious and jealous 
of one another, and this kept them 
back from the nomination of a com- 
mander-in-chief. On 5 May Wellesley 
advanced towards the Douro, detach- 
ing Beresford tO' seize Amarante, 
whence the French had dislodged the 
Portuguese. On 12 May Sir Arthur 
surprised Soult fording the Douro 
above Oporto, took that to^wn and 
drove the French back. Beresford 
had succeeded in taking Amarante. 



344 



PENINSULAR 

All that was left for Soult, therefore, 
was fcoi abandon his artillery and bag'- 
g-ag^e and escape as best he could with 
a loss of nearly 5,000 men over the 
Sierra Catalina. This victory also 
necessitated the retreat of Victor, who 
with Lapisse had orossed the Tagus at 
Alcantara and who then had to retire. 
Wellesley now decided to join Cuesta, 
which would give hlim^ a force of 22,000 
British and 40,000 Spaniards, and 
march towards Madrid against Victor 
at Talavera, who' in his turn was 
supported by Joseph with 50,000 men. 
It was, however, resolved toi harry 
Joseph by dispatching against him- Sir 
Robert Wilson with 4,000 Portuguese 
and the Spanish general Venegas with 
25,000 men. But such arrangements 
as were m.ade regarding dates of 
attack and otherwise were not car- 
ried out. Cuesta was jealous, and 
Wellesley and Venegas received con- 
trary orders from the Spanish junta, 
and Wilson was forced to beat a 
retreat. On the other hand, Joseph 
effected a junction with Victor, and 
with his united force attacked the 
Altlesi at Talavera, on the Tagus. A 
two-days' battle ensued and ended In 
a French defeat, but Wellesley at the 
conclusion of the struggle was sur- 
prised toi learn that Soult had passed 
the mountains and was now In his 
rear. To make matters more serious 
he was further Infoirmed that not Soult 
alone but three French corps were 
behind him, that Cuesta was retreat- 
ing froim Talavera, and that therefore 
he was in a most perilous position. 
He at once withdrew acro'ss the Tagus, 
blowing up bridges as he went, and 
passing thirough Merlda northwards 
towards; the river Agueda, began to= 
throw up entrenchiments In the country 
around Lisbon. Meanwhile, in May, 
Blake had inflicted a severe defeat on 
Suchet at Alcaniz, but Soult wiped off 
the disgrace by defeating him In turn 
at Maria on 15 June and three days 
after at Belchite. Venegas had been 
beaten by Joseph, and on Venegas 
effecting a junction with Cuesta they 
were attacked by Joseph at Ocana on 
19 Nov. and decisively defeated. For 
Ms part In this campaign Wellesley 
was created Viscount Wellington and 
Baron Douro, and received high 



PENINSULAR 

military honours from the Spanish and 
Portuguese authorities; but he began 
to appreciate Spanish and Portuguese 
assistance at Its true value. 

The Portuguese Campaign of 1810. 
— ^By the beginning of 18 10 enormous 
reinforcements were dispatched by N. 
to Increase and assist his army in 
Spain. Massena, with Ney, Junot, 
and Reynier under him, was in charge 
of 120,000 men, and was toi operate 
against Portugal. Soult, having as 
his lieutenants Mortler, Victor, and 
Sebastiani, with 70,000 men was to 
occupy Andalusia. He took Seville 
on the last day of January, which 
necessitated the flight of the supreme 
junta, which afterwards detailed Its 
powers toi a regency of five members. 
Wellington had tO' proceed with the 
utmost caution, as- advices from home 
told him of great discontent there in 
connexion with the war, which was 
regarded in England by a certain 
section of the public as ruinous and 
unnecessary. He had thrown up 
strong defences at Torres Vedras, 
near Lisbon, and had under his com- 
mand about 35,000 British and 60,000 
Portuguese. He was narrowly watch- 
ing the roads leading into Portugal. 
Mass6na moived forward early In 
June, forced Cludad Rodrlgo to sur- 
render and a British force under Craw- 
ford toi retire, took Almeida, joined 
with Reynier, who had been moving 
on his flank, and advanced, Wellington 
falling back before him on the opposite 
side of the river Mondego. Wellington 
took up a strong position on the road 
which crossed the Sierra de Busaco, 
to the north of Colmbra. Massena 
seems tO' have underestimated the 
strength of Wellington's position, and 
delivered a frontal attack upon the 
heights, which he occupied on 2'j Sept. 
He hurled the whole weight of his 
60,000 men upon the Allied front, and 
after a fierce combat was repulsed with 
a loss of five generals and nearly 5,000 
men, the Allied loss being only about 
1,300. But the Portuguese had failed 
to occupy the Boyalva Pass and 
Sardao, which places were on the 
following day turned by Massena, so 
that Wellington was forced to re- 
treat by way of CoHmbra to the lines 
of Torres Vedras. These consisted of 



345 



PENINSULAR 

three massive lines of earthworks, 
streng'thened by numerous redoubts, 
bristling- with over 500 guns and 
manned by nearly 100,000 men. The 
outer line was nearly thirty miles 
long, and stretched from the vicinity 
of Lisbon toi the sea. Mass^na ad- 
vanced, but the Portuguese attacked 
his rear, retook Coimbira, and on his 
approaching the lines he received a 
shock when he viewed their strength; 
he attempted to cross the Tagus, was 
repulsed, and in some despair sent tO' 
the Emperor tO' ask for reinforcements. 
An admirable "battle general," Mas- 
sena was scarcely the man to reduce 
such formidable lines of defence, and 
it was now Wellington's policy not to 
give battle to him, but slowly to reduce 
him by hunger. The progress of the 
French in other portions of the country 
during this year had been consider- 
able. They had occupied practically 
the whole of Spain, were in possession 
of Ciudad Rodr^igo, Almeida, and 
Lerida. At the end of this campaign 
all the Allies were in possession of was 
Lisbon, a good part of Portugal and 
the two strong fortresses of Badajos 
and Elvas — not a very great portion of 
the peninsula — but what they held they 
held strongly. 

At this time N.'s attention was 
directed elsewhere, soi that he found 
it impossible for himi to reinforce 
Massena, but he ordered Soult to 
assist him by moving against Badajos, 
which the latter invested and took on 
10 March 181 1. He had left Victor 
in front of Cadiz, in which city Sir 
Thomas Graham was stationed. 
Graham left Cadiz by sea, and, join- 
ing with Spanish forces near Tarifa, 
advanced by land against Victor. 
Severe fighting' ensued. Graham- had 
4,000 British and 9,000 Spaniards 
to Victor's 9,000 French. In the 
end Victor was driven back, but the 
Spaniards refused toi pursue him, and 
Graham, annoyed with La Pena, the 
Spanish commander, re-entered Cadiz, 
refusing to co-operate with him fur- 
ther, and the blockade of the city was 
resumed by the French. 

By this time Massf^na found himself 
in sore straits ; his food supply was 
at an end, as were his stores of all 
sorts ; his men were deserting in oom- 



PENINSULAR 

panics, and he found it difficult to 
obtain horses. A retreat was co-m^ 
menced, the rearguard of which was 
coimm-anded by Ney with conspicuous 
ability. Wellington was content to 
let hunger fight for him against the 
French, instead of throwing away men 
in the pursuit, and in this he was well 
advised. Massena 's retreat was one of 
the most disastrous in military history. 
From time to time rear-guard actions 
were foug^ht, wMch necessitated the 
sacrifice of muchi baggage and am- 
munition. At length Massena reached 
Celoricoi, where he was attacked by 
Wellington on 29 March, and foug'ht 
a second eng^ag^ement at Sabugal on 
3 April, being driven back towards 
Salamanca, During the campaign in 
Portugal he had lost nearly 30,000 
men, and in the retreat about 6,000. 

Wellingftoo was quick to. observe 
that the most important keys of the 
two great roads fro-m Portugal into 
Spain were Ciudad Rodrig-o and 
Almeida on the north, and Badajos 
and Elvas on the south road, all of 
which except the last were held by 
the French. Beresford was investing 
Badajos, and there he was joined by 
Wellington in person, who', however, 
had dispatched Spencer to invest 
Almeida. But Wellington did not 
remain long before Badajos, for news 
reached him. that Massena was march- 
ings to the relief of Almeida. When 
at Fuentes d'Onoro, near Almeida, he 
was attacked by Loiso'n, seconded by 
Massena two days afterwards (5 May). 
Wellington was in coimmand of about 
33,000 Allied troops, whereas Massena 
had under him over 45,000. Repeated 
French cavalry charges had little effect 
on the steadiness of the Allied right, 
which' was covered by the lig^ht divi- 
sion, and which chang^ed its poisitions 
as if on parade. Massena could make 
no impression on Wellington's posi- 
tion, and was forced to withdraw to 
Salamanca, Almeida falling- to the 
Allies on II May. At Fuentes d'Onoro 
the French lost about 3,000 men and 
the Allies about half the number. 

Soult had compelled Beresford to 
raise the siege of Badajos and retreat 
beyond the river Albuera, where he 
was attacked by Soult on 16 May. 
A most sanguinary strug'gle followed; 



346 



PENINSULAR 

repeated French attacks were made 
ag-ainst the Allied right held by the 
Spaniards, and at one time these 
seemed to be broken, when by the 
advance of Sir Lowry Cole's division 
order was restored and Soult was 
forced toi fall back towards Seville. 
Only about 7,000 British took part in 
this battle, and nearly half of these 
were put out of action, the entire 
Allied loss being" 7,000 and the French 
about 1 ,000 more. Welling-ton, march- 
ing from' Almeida, rejoined Beresford 
and continued the siege of Badajos, 
but by this time Mass^na had been 
replaced by Marmont, whoi was march- 
ing southwards to join Soult. Bada- 
jos held out stubbornly, and at length 
Wellington withdrew from under its 
bastioes. He returned in the direction 
of Almeida, and with 40,000 men com- 
menced the blockade of Ciudad Rod- 
rligo. Soult was at this time at Seville, 
and Marmont in the Tagus valley, near 
the pass of Bafios. It was now Sept., 
and Marmont had succeeded in effect- 
ing a junction with Dorsenne, who 
had marched froim Salamanca, the 
coimbined forces numbering about 
60,000 men, with 100 guns. They 
managed to pour new supplies into 
Ciudad Rodrigo, and then marched 
upon Wellington, whoi, on learning of 
their advance in force, had retired 
from the blockade of the town they 
had succoured. He fought a rear- 
guard action with Marmont at El 
Bodon, and at Fuente Guinaldo on 
the two days of 25 and 26 Sept. 
He checked Marmont's advance with 
about 15,000 men in order to save the 
light division from^ being cut off. At 
length he took up a strong position 
near Sabugal, and Marmont once more 
withdrew to the Tagus valley, where- 
upon Wellington returned to the in- 
vestment of Ciudad Rodriigo. There 
had also been minor successes during 
181 1. About the end of Oct. Hill had 
captured Arroyo de los Molinos by a 
stratagem, and had almost cut to 
pieces a French corps under Gerard. 
The French attempt to take Tarifa, 
near Cadiz, had also been repulsed, 
but Suchet had taken Tortosa in Jan. 
and Tarragona in June, and in taking 
Murviedro at the end of Oct. had de- 
feated a relieving force under Blake. 



PENINSULAR 

The French still held Ciudad Rodrigo 
and Badajos, the two principal keys 
of Spain on the Portuguese frontier, 
and may be said still to have been 
secure in their tenure of Spain. 

It is significant, however, that so 
long as N. personally directed opera- 
tions in the Peninsula the French plans 
in that country met with unbroken suc- 
cess, whereas the moment his attention 
was directed elsewhere Gallic schemes 
for the absorption of Spain into the 
Empire commenced to crumble, and it 
was only the strenuous direction and 
attention which N. was able to give 
to them' from afar which prevented 
them from falling to pieces in their 
entirety. 

During 1812 N. was, of course, 
immensely occupied with the Russian 
campaign, and early in that year he 
had withdrawn nearly 30,000 men from' 
Spain. Carrying out a well-concerted 
plan, Wellington instituted what he 
described as a number of magazines, 
or depots, of provisions, which he 
placed at many points, thus enabling 
him always to take and keep the 
field. He now assumed the offensive, 
and by skilful strategy forced the 
French corps into such districts as he 
knew to be infested by guerrilla bands 
of Spanish irregular troops. This 
policy hindered concerted action on the 
part of the French. At the beginning 
of Jan. 181 2 he once more set siege 
to Ciudad Rodrigo; but much re- 
mained to be done, for nearly 200,000 
French still remained in Spain, dis- 
posed as follows : Dorsenne with the 
army of the north, amounting to nearly 
50,000 men, occupied the Asturias and 
the northern coast; Marmont with 
50,000 men, who were known as the 
army of Portugal, was stationed in the 
valley of the Tagus ; and Soult with 
the army of the south had over 50,000 
men in Andalusia; Joseph with the 
army of the centre occupied the country 
in the neighbourhood of Madrid with 
nearly 20,000 men. Wellington heard 
that Marmont was moving northwards, 
and on the twelfth day of his attack 
on Ciudad Rodrigo delivered such a 
furious assault upon its defences as 
met with success, but he lost no less 
than 1,300 men. He then executed a 
rapid march southwards with 22,000 



347 



PENINSULAR 

men and laid siege to Badajos. He 
was pressed for time, as Soult and 
Marmont were hastening- to relieve 
the place. On 7 April he directed an 
assault against it, and a terrible 
carnage ensued. One of the bastions 
was climbed in the most daring man- 
ner, and eventually the place was 
taken. Once inside the town the 
Allied troops committed the most 
dreadful excesses, most of which were 
caused through indulgence in liquor. 
During the entire siege they had lost 
5,000 men, and the slaughter at the 
bastion of no less than 3,500 had so 
irritated and enraged them that when 
at last they succeeded in entering the 
place they were scarcely responsible 
for their actions. 

These successes placed the twoi great 
gates into Spain in the hands of the 
Allies. Wellington, pretending to 
enter Spain by way of Badajos, turned 
northward, crossed the Tormes, and 
advanced in the direction of the Douro, 
behind which the French were drawn 
up. It took him nearly a fortnight to 
reduce some French forts around Sala- 
manca, but at last he faced the French 
along the Douro. Marmont succeeded 
o^n 15 July in turning Wellington's 
right, but the British commander 
moved' parallel with him. It wa,Si 
Marmont's object to get between 
Wellington and Portugal on the 
Ciudad Rodrigo road. This he tried 
to do on 22 July. His action pre- 
cipitated the battle of Salamanca, in 
which the Allies gained a decisive 
victory, the French being driven 
back to Valladolid and then toi 
Burgos. Wellington next turned his 
attention to Joseph, who had been 
marching to reinforce Marmont, but 
Joseph retired before him, and on 
12 Aug. Wellington entered Madrid, 
where he captured a number of Frenchi 
troops and stores. Soult, raising the 
siege of Cadiz, effected a junction 
with Suchet for their mutual defence. 
Indeed, by the beginning of September 
all the French armies began once more 
to assemble together, but Welling- 
ton, desiring to take them in detail, 
marched against the army of the north 
under Clausel. He was stopped by the 
castle of Burgos, which he failed to 
take by assault, and as he was in- 



PENINSULAR 

formed that Soult and the army of 
Portugal were both marching against 
him he commenced the "retreat from 
Burgos," which, though skilfully 
manoeuvred, lost him 7,000 men and 
was a considerable shock to his morale. 
Once more he returned to Ciudad Rod- 
rigo, where he went into camp, and the 
French armies^ pressed for food, had 
scattered in search of it. He was rest- 
ing from his labours, but although he 
had retreated from Burgos the net 
result of the campaign was most en- 
couraging, for he had occupied Madrid, 
had secured a brilliant victory at Sala- 
manca, had raised the siege of Cadiz, 
had stormed Ciudad Rodrigo and Bada- 
jos, and had freed Andalusia of the 
French. Moreover, he bad gained the 
complete confidence of the Spanish 
Cortes, which about the end of 
September had nominated him. com- 
mander-in-chief of the Spanish Army. 
His reward for this year's work was 
an earldom and subsequently the mar- 
quisate of Wellington, the Spanish 
authorities creating him Duke of 
Ciudad Rodrigo, and the Portuguese 
Marquis of Torres Vedras. 

The commencement of the year 18 13 
found Valencia, Aragon, and Catalonia 
occupied by Suchet with 63,000 men. 
There were still nearly 140,000 French- 
men in Spain besides this force, most 
of them in Leon and Biscay or guard- 
ing the communications with France. 
Such of these, about 60,000, as 
menaced Wellington's positions were 
under the command of Joseph, but 
these were assembled in scattered 
detacbments along a front reaching 
from Toledo to the river Esla. Wel- 
lington had done good work in further 
organizing the Spanish forces, which, 
especially as regards their guerrilla 
bands, were now truly formidable in 
purpose if not in numbers. Still, 
Castanos in Galicia had 40,000 men, 
Elioi in Murcia 20,000, and other 
companies throughout the length and 
breadth of Spain were nearly as 
numerous. Portugal, too, had raised 
fresh troops, and reinforcements had 
arrived from Britain, so that the Allies, 
excepting the Spanish bands already 
indicated, now numbered about 75,000 
men, their line stretching from Lamego 
to the pass of Banos. Wellington ad- 



348 



PENINSULAR 

vanced upon Jo<seph by the south bank 
of the Douro, forded the Tormes near 
Salamanca, having- previously detached 
Graham with 40,000 men to make his 
way through the rug"ged district of 
the Traso'S-Mootes, north of the Douro- 
river. Graham was to work his way 
towards Braganza, where he was to 
effect a junctioin with the Spanish 
forces and attempt to turn Joseph's 
right. This he did in a most energetic 
manner, and such was his success 
that Joseph was compelled to retire 
hurriedly fro-mi the Douro behind the 
Pisuerga. Towards this point the 
Allied Army now concentrated itself, 
but Joseph, retreating still further, fell 
back behind the Ebro. By a circular 
movement Wellington succeeded in 
turning- Jo-seph's right, and again the 
King- of Spain retreated behind the 
river Zadorra, near Vittoria, where 
Wellington inflicted upon himi a severe 
and crushing defeat, which ended in 
absolute rout. In a few days' time 
the French troops under Suchet in 
Catalonia and Valencia had retired 
across the Pyrenees into France. This 
point may be said to mark the begin- 
ning of the freedoim of the Peninsula 
from- French dominion, but the war 
was by noi means concluded. At the 
same time the French were smarting 
under a series of heavy defeats, 
whereas the Allies were inspirited by 
a long roll of successes. The name 
of Wellingfton became something- to 
conjure with both in the British and 
Spanish lines, and the confidence of 
the troops in their leader did much 
to hasten the end he had in view. He 
was now rewarded with thie rank of 
field-marshal in the British Army, and 
the Portuguese Gk>vernment, which 
had soug-ht refuge in Brazil, created 
him Duke of Victory, not Duke of 
Vittoria, as has been incorrectly 
stated. 

At this juncture Wellington's prin- 
cipal intention was toi reduce the 
fortresses of Pampeluna and San 
Sebastian ; he laid siege toi the latter 
first, contenting himself with block- 
ading- Pampeluna. The attack on San 
Sebastian was futile, and Wellington, 
who had now about 80,000 men in all, 
raised his sieg-e of the place in order 
to meet Soult, who was attempting to 



PENINSULAR 

relieve Pampeluna. They met close to 
Sorauren, where about 12,000 A^llied 
troops faced over 25,000 Frenchmen. 
A terrific strug-gle at close quarters 
ensued, but the Allies could not be 
dislodged, and Soult withdrew ; Wel- 
lington assumed the offensive, and 
in the engagements of Roocesvalles, 
Maya, Sorauren, Yanzi, and Echallar 
drove him back with very consider- 
able loss. The British commander 
then once more attacked San Sebas- 
tian and carried it, excepting the 
castle, at a fairly costly price. Soult 
ag-ain attempted to relieve it (31 Aug.), 
but was repulsed at Vera and St. 
Marcial ; the castle itself surrendered 
on 9 Sept. 

It was now Wellington's determina- 
tion to extend his line across the river 
Bidassoa for the purpose of strength- 
ening* his position and securing the 
port of Fuenterrabia. Crossing- the 
river, he attacked the French position 
on the Bidassoa road. The French 
considered the passage impossible, and 
on Welling-ton crossing- in strengfth 
near Fuenterrabia were so surprised 
that they gave way on the rig-ht, and 
after a goodi deal of hard fighting were 
forced to quit the very strong- entrench- 
ments they had occupied. Pampeluna 
surrendered on 31 Oct. Soult's army 
of nearly 80,000 men was at this 
time entrenched in three strong- lines 
stretching from the sea in front of 
St. Jean de Luz to Amotz, and thence 
to Mont Mondarin. On 10 Nov. 181 3 
Wellington directed an attack in 
column on this extended position. He 
succeeded in carrying Soult's advanced 
works, and concentrated nearly 50,000 
men towards the French centre at 
Amotz, thus cutting Soult's army in 
two. The French right was rolled 
back, and Soult withdrew during the 
night to Bayonne with a loss of about 
4,000 men, the Allied loss amounting" 
to about 2,700. But the French had 
lO'St fifty guns as well, and all their 
ammunition and warlike stores. Bad 
weather now ensued, and the rivers 
were unfordable. The native authorities 
could not be made to move or to extend 
proper treatment to their troops. On 
entering" France the Spanish soldiers 
committed such dreadful excesses in 
revengfe for the French occupation of 



349 



PENINSULAR 

their country that Wellingfton was 
forced to send 20,000 of them back 
to the Peninsula, at the same time 
reslig^ningf his command of their army, 
a decision which he later recalled. He 
then effected a passage of the Nive 
and came into touch with Soult at 
Villefranque. His army was now 
divided into two portions by the river, 
and Soult, taking advantage of this, 
attacked Hope, who had 30,000 men, 
with a force double that number. A 
desperate battle ensued, but, Welling- 
ton and Beresfoird coiming up, the 
French were forced to retire. Smaller 
engagements were fought on 11 and 
12 Dec, and on the 13th Soult, 
with 35,000 men, made a fierce attack 
against Hill, who was in occupation 
of the heights near Villefranque. Hill 
succeeded in repulsing the French 
before Wellington arrived. In the 
battles of the Nive the Allies lo'St 
about 5,000 men and the French 
about 2,000 more. 

Operations were suspended until 
Feb. 1 814, at which time the French 
line extended from Bayonne up the 
banks of the Adour, and then took a 
fo'n^'ard trend along the Bidouze to 
St. Palais. Hope was keeping an eye 
on Bayonne, and Beresford and Hill 
watched the Adour. Soult had 41,000 
men at his disposal and the Allies 
about as many. Wellington decided 
to approach the Adour below Bayonne, 
and, collecting a number of vessels, he 
left Hope and 30,000 men to watch the 
town and commenced a movement to 
encompass Soult 's left. Following an 
attack by Hill on the 14th and i5tb, 
Wellington pressed on and drove the 
French outposts over the Bidouze. 
This forced Soult to leave his position 
in Bayonne, and he concentrated at 
Orthes. Hope succeeded in passing 
600 men across the river in boats on 
22 and 23 Feb., and on the 24th 
Wellington's flotilla, convoyed by men- 
of-war boats, crossed the river, con- 
structed a br^idge of twenty-six vessels 
over it, protected it by batteries, and 
passed 8,000 troops across it. Bayonne 
was then invested. On the 27th Wel- 
lington effected the passage of the river 
below Orthes, and attacking Soult with 
a force nearly equal to his own, about 
37,000 men, in a strong position which 



PENINSULAR 

he held on the heights behind the town, 
thirew out a force under Beresford, 
whichi after hard fighting was repulsed ; 
but the French left an important part 
of the heights unoccupied in order to 
pursue, and Wellington, taking advan- 
tage of the circumstance, pushed up 
a light division into' it between Soult' s 
right and centre. Hill then forded the 
river, turned the French left, and Soult 
withdrew just in time to save being 
cut off. Beresford was dispatched to 
Bordeaux, which surrendered. Soult 
retired slowly eastwards and fought 
several actions, especially a severe one 
at Tarbes on 20' March. He retreated 
toi Toulouse, and Wellington, cro'ssing 
below that town, was checked by a 
bridge being swept away. It was 
restored, however, and) he crossed 
the Garonne and attacked Soult on 
10 April. In the battle which ensued, 
that of Toulouse, the Allies with 
52,000 men outnumbered the French 
with 40,000, but Soult was in a strong 
position to the noirth and east of the 
city, and Beresford 's men had to face 
a march of several miles under heavy 
artillery fire. He succeeded in taking 
Mont Rave, and Soult fell back behind 
the canal of Languedoc. Soult re- 
treated still further, and Wellington 
entered Toulouse, having lost about 
5,000 men to the French 3,000. On 
13 April the capture of Paris and the 
abdication of N. were announced, and 
on the 1 8th Wellington and Soult 
entered into a convention, and peace 
was formally signed at Paris on 
30 May. 

For the operations of this campaign 
Wellington was created Marquis of 
Douroi and Duke of Wellington, and 
peerages were conferred on Beresford, 
Graham, and Hill. 

Throughout this great war the 
administrative ability of Wellington 
shines out with equal brilliance to 
his soldier-like qualities. Any failures 
which he had were in connexion with 
his sieges, for which his men were 
scarcely adequate. Transport from 
Britain was a matter of weeks, and 
he was by noi means well seconded 
by Ms government. His transport 
and engineering departments were 
very incomplete and his material 
insufficient. Nor was ammunition 



350 



PERMON 

always forthcomingf in a regular 
manner. By resource and determina- 
tion he rose superior to all these diffi- 
culties, and by his action in Spain 
gfreatly contributed to the overthrow 
of the Napoleonic power. 

Permon, Madame (1755-1802).— 
Whose only title to fame is her friend- 
ship with the Bonaparte family ; was 
the mother of Laure Permon, who mar- 
ried General Junot and wrote the much- 
quoted memoirs which bear her title 
of Duchesse d'Abrantes. Mme. Per- 
mon was the daughter of Constantine 
Comnenus, of the noble Greek family 
of the Comneni, who reigned at Con- 
stantinople and took refuge in Corsica 
after the capture of that city by the 
Turks. In her youth at Ajaccio she 
knew both Letizia and Carlo Buona- 
parte, and it was in her house at 
Montpellier that the latter died in 1785. 
N. and his family never forgot her 
kindness to their father, and also to 
themselves when forced to flee from 
Corsica. 

In Paris Mme. Permon, by her royal 
descent — a legend, according to some 
— a witty tongue and gift for intrigue, 
occupied a leading place among the 
CoTsican colony settled there. After 
the Jacobin downfall in 1794 N. was 
a constant visitor at her house. She 
befriended Saliceti when in danger of 
his life, after the fall of his friend 
Robespierre, by concealing him in her 
house. Her husband had made money 
in military contracts to the French 
expedition fighting in the American 
War of Independence, and her son 
Albert followed the same course 
during the Revolution. According to 
her daughter, N. proposed for Mme. 
Permon 's hand, though she was forty 
at the time and he only twenty-six, and 
further planned that Albert Permon 
should marry his sister Pauline, and 
Laure, Louis or Jerome. No other 
evidence of this assertion exists. It 
was Mme. Permon. who made the 
famous remark "The pike is eating 
the two other fish" when N. so 
adroitly took the supreme place after 
Brumaire. When Mme. Permon died 
her coffin was ornamented with the 
arms of the Coimnenian family. 

Phiiadelphes, The. — A secret 
society, the purely imaginary inven- 



PICHEGRU 

tion of Charles Nodier in his inten- 
tional literary mystification entitled 
Histoire des SocieUs de I'Armee, 
first issued in 181 5 and often re- 
printed since. It is written in the 
character of a retired officer of N.'s 
army, and gives a full account of the 
Phiiadelphes. This society, he ex- 
plained, existed for the purpose of 
restoring the Bourbons, and had 
ramifications all over France. Its 
existence was said to be known to 
N., who caused its chief, a certain 
Col. Oudet, to disappear in a mysteri- 
ous manner. The book was accepted 
for some long time as a serious contri- 
bution to history, but Nodier himself 
laughingly admitted that it had not 
the slightest foundation in truth. The 
Dictionnaire Historique de la France 
warns its readers that Nodier' s 
writings "are not entitled to any 
great confidence." 

Pichegru, Charles (1761-1804).— 
French general. The birth-place of 
Pichegru is variously placed, but it 
seems most probably to have been 
Arbois, in the province of Franche- 
Comte, and the date 16 Feb. 1761. 
His parents were poor and of the 
farmer class, but he received a good 
education in the monastery of his 
native town and at the military school 
of Brienne. At the age of dighteen he 
enlisted as a private in a regiment of 
artillery, and within six months became 
a sergeant. In 1789 he held the rank 
of adjutant, and three years afterwards 
was placed over a battalion of volun- 
teers and sent to join the army of the 
Rhine. He assisted in reconquering 
Alsace and in the reorganization of 
the disheartened troops of the Repub- 
lic. In 1793 Pichegru became com- 
mander-in-chief of the Army of the 
Rhine-and-Moselle, and in Feb. was 
appointed to the Army of the North. 
Comte Lavalette, in his memoirs, tells 
us that he was of "middling size. His 
eyes were fine, full of fire and intelli- 
gence ; his air was martial and his de- 
portment calm and dignified." And 
he further states that Pichegru soon 
gained "the esteem^ of everyone." 

In the following year Pichegru 
fought three great campaigns, and 
became famous as the conqueror of 
Holland. Much interest attaches to 



351 



PICHEGRU 

his occupation of this country — notably 
the indident of the seizure of the Dutch 
ships which were frozen in the Helder, 
and regarding which Thiers, in his 
History of the French Revolution, 
gives the following account: "The 
marvellous itself became already asso- 
ciated with the extraordinary opera- 
tions of the war. Part of the Dutch 
fleet was at anchor near the Texel. 
Pichegru, unwilling to give it time 
to get clear of the ice and to sail 
for England, sent some divisions of 
cavalry and several batteries of light 
artillery towards North Holland. The 
Zuider Zee was frozen ; our [French] 
squadrons galloped across those plains 
of ice, and our hussars and horse artil- 
lery summoned the ships, immovably 
fixed, as they would have done a fort- 
ress. The Dutch ships surrendered to 
these strange assailants." The splen- 
did restraint which prevented the sack 
of Amsterdam by the French soldiery 
was alsot due to the discipline and tact 
of their leader. 

Pichegru took part in a conspiracy 
for the restoration of the Bourbons, 
but he was suspected, and his resigna- 
tion was accepted by the Directory in 
1795. He retired to Bellevaux, near 
his native town, where he remained 
until he was returned by the depart- 
ment of the Upper Sa6ne to the council 
of the Five Hundred in 1797. He there 
headed the royalists, but some of his 
plans were discovered and he was 
arrested, with other deputies, and sent 
to Cayenne. After eight months he 
succeeded in escaping, and arrived in 
London in 1798. In 1803 he went to 
Paris with Georges Cadoudal to take 
part in a royalist rising against N., 
but he was betrayed by a friend and 
arrested on 28 Feb. 1804. On 15 April 
he was found strangled in his cell. It 
has been said that he was murdered 
by the orders of N., but there is no 
foundation for this statement, and, 
indeed, it is more likely that he took 
his own life. 

Pichegru was the possessor of 
tremendous physical strength, and 
this, with his powers of command, 
gained for him a personal ascendancy 
over his men which enabled him to 
preserve a thorough discipline. He 
was the originator of a new species 



PICTURES 

of war which was afterwards used 
with great effect by the French. Find- 
ing that the troops he had to lead were 
brave but not hardened to war and 
rather easily discouraged by delay, he 
invented a system of sharp- shooting, 
of flying artillery, of attacks constantly 
repeated. This was found to be 
especially effective against cavalry, and 
at the same time raised the spirits and 
fed the self-love of his own troops. 

Sir Gilbert Blane, who attended 
Pichegru during a severe illness he 
had whilst in England, writes : 

"Pichegru had been well educated, 
both' classically and mathematically, 
and it was evident froim the conversa- 
tions I had with him that subjects of 
science were familiar to him. He was 
by nature a humane and moderate 
man, and had much more the appear- 
ance and manners of a Swiss than 
of a Frenchman. , . . He said that 
during all his command his army had 
never a tent, that they never were 
sickly, except that part of it which 
was employed in the siege of Sluys, 
that in a space of time from four to 
six hours an army can build huts to 
shelter themselves, and that his camp 
was like a town composed of huts." 

Pichegru seems to have possessed 
a certain charm of manner which 
sometimes blinded the eyes of his 
associates to the fact that he was 
above all an egO'ist who played always 
for his own hand. 

Pictures, Napoleon in.— Is there 
any historical or biographical value in 
the Napoleonic canvases of Delaroche, 
Meissonier, and Orchardson? That is 
a question which people seldom 
trouble to ask, yet the fact remains 
that their conception of the Emperor 
has been largely moulded by these and 
analogous works. The usual idea of 
N., his character, his appearance, his 
mighty doings, has been very 
materially affected, year after year, by 
paintings representing scenes in his 
astounding career. 

The student of genre pictures in 
which N. figures is confronted by 
rather an embarrassment of riches, 
legion being verily the name of paint- 
ings of this sort. The production of 
them began while the Emperor was yet 
alive and active, for he was not greatly 



352 



PICTURES 

inclined to be modest about his doing's, 
axid sought rather, like his great pre- 
decessor, Louis XIV., to have them 
blazoned far and near. Louis caused 
his palace of Versailles to be decorated 
with huge paintings, delineating his 
own achievements; and N., likewise, 
bad not been long- in power ere he 
started g'iving analogous commissions, 
the two artists chiefly favoured by him 
in this way being- David and Gros. No 
doubt the works of these men served 
to make the Emperor popular among 
his people, while, be that as it may, 
there is good reason to believe that 
during the opening years of the Empire 
the g^eneral public of France loved no 
pictures so well as those depicting- 
Bonaparte's martial triumphs. For 
the newspapers of this time glow with 
praise of countless works of this sort, 
and their preponderance in the Salon 
catalogues of the day is extraordinary ; 
while we find that in 1810 there was 
published a {X>rtfolio entitled NapoUon 
a la grande artnee, this containing; no 
fewer than a hundred and forty-six 
military prints, most of them from the 
hand of the distinguished eng-raver, 
Jean Duplessis-Bertaux (1747- 181 5). 

The waning" of Bonaparte's power, 
his subsequent abdication, and his 
ultimate defeat and banishment did not 
tend, unless for a little while, to 
attenuate the output of Napoleonic 
pictures. And the portfolio mentioned 
above was shortly followed by another 
and more ambitious one, Victoires de 
NapoUon en Allemagne, which, con- 
tained upwards of eight hundred 
prints, nearly all of, them engraved by 
Pierre Nolasque Bergeret (1782-1863). 
A number of these prints were after- 
wards reproduced in bas relief on the 
Colonne Vendome, and meanwhile the 
painter, Horace Vernet (1789- 1863), 
was turning his attention to history, 
the result being" a great harvest of 
Napoleonic pictures, notably Les 
Adieux de Fontainehleau, Napoleon 
signant son Abdication, and NapoUon 
a Charier oi. Some of this artist's 
work, as M. Louis Hourtieg" observes 
aptly in his invaluable Art in France, 
is "like the spirited tale of a trooper" ; 
yet Vernet' s are by no means the best 
pictures of Bonaparte painted about 
this time, and the palm should be 



PICTURES 

awarded to Dominique Ingres (1781- 
1867) and Eugene Delacroix (1798- 
1863). Ingres as a young man elicited 
the personal interest of the Emperor, 
and later on he expressed his sense 
of gratitude by a great canvas, 
L'Apotheose de Napoleon /«''; while 
Delacroix, chiefly preoccupied with the 
remote past and devoted to figuring 
scenes from the Crusades, executed a 
magnificent Bataille de Taillebourg for 
Versailles on the occasion of that 
palace being transformed into a sort of 
military museum. 

Ingres and Delacroix were both re- 
garded by the younger artists around 
them in Paris as leaders in what is 
usually styled " the romantic move- 
ment. " These younger men were on 
the alert for novelties of all kinds, and 
the art of lithography, invented only 
a little while before this by a German, 
Alois Senefelder, acoording-ly won a 
speedy welcome now in France, nor 
did workers in this new medium fail 
to swell the g-reat catalog-ue of Napo- 
leonic pictures. A host of lithographs 
were done by Nicolas Toussaint Char- 
let (1792- 1 845), yet superior to his 
prints, perhaps, are those of his g-reat 
contemporary, Raffet (1804-60). He had 
a keen, eye for the more amusing side 
of warfare, yet he was anything- but 
oblivious to the g-ruesome side of a 
campaig-n, as is evinced by those ex- 
cellent prints illustrating scenes from 
N.'s ill-starred attempt to march into 
Russia. Looking" at some of these 
things by Raffet, we seem to feel the 
bitter cold of the steppes and to feel 
the fierce blizzard driving in our faces 
as it drove in those of Bonaparte's 
soldiers. 

It is hig^hly probable that both 
Charlet and Raffet, looking- back on 
their early days, could remember see- 
ing" N. reviewing- his troops. And 
while it is unlikely that that brave 
sig"ht was ever vouchsafed to the eyes 
of Paul Delarochie (1797- 1856), he too 
must almost certainly have had dim 
recollections of seeing- the Emperor in 
person driving" through the streets of 
Paris ; while it is likely again that the 
artist knew old men who had fought 
in the Napoleonic campaigns. Be that 
as it may, Delaroche early began to 
devote himself exclusively to historical 



353 



PICTURES 

paintings, a field in which he soon 
gained popularity ; and this fame of his 
exists to the present day, in some 
measure at least, there being" few- 
Napoleonic pictures more widely 
known than two from his brush, the 
one showing Bonaparte leading his 
troops across the snowbound Alps, the 
other representing the Emperor brood- 
ing in sullen fashion in his sanctum at 
the palace of Fontainebleau. It cannot 
be gainsaid, however, that these 
canvases appeal less to the genuine 
lovers of painting than to the crowd ; 
while it was from their hands, cer- 
tainly, that the painter chiefly gathered 
the laurels showered on him in his own 
day, the masses liking the flavour of 
sentimentality prone to pervade his art. 
The people also appreciated what is 
always a popular element, the precise 
and conscientious style of workman- 
ship, and no doubt it was this same 
characteristic in the paintings of a 
later artist, Jean Louis Ernest Meis- 
sonier (1815-91), which enabled him to 
become, for a space, a very idol among 
the Parisians, who poured a small for- 
time into his pockets. Admiring his 
skill always, his compatriots admired it 
especially when he employed it to 
figTire events in the career of N., and 
again and again the painter essayed 
this line of action. A great number of 
his canvases of this sort have been 
etched competently, and even beauti- 
fully, the result being that they are 
widely known in countries other than 
France; and their popularity notwith- 
standing, they possess a great deal of 
genuine artistic merit, this being true 
in particular of one wherein the 
Empyeror is delineated riding over 
snowy grooind on his famous white 
charger, a body of soldiers following. 
This painting, like some of Raffet's 
lithographs cited before, makes us 
verily feel the cold which the artist has 
tried to reproduce ; and there is a 
story to the effect that Meissonier, 
eager for a complete and convincing 
realism in this relation, went to the 
top of his house one snowy day, re- 
mained' there till he was almost frozen 
to death, and then hurried to his studio 
to introduce his own blue, numbed face 
into his picture, a looking^lass being, 
of course, requisitioned for this curious 



PICTURES 

task ! Whatever the ajnount of truth 
in this anecdote, there can be no ques- 
tion as to the absolute veracity of the 
artist's rendering of uniforms, 
accoutrements, and so forth, for he 
made a close and lifelong study of such 
details ; and it is likely that a more 
recent, and in some ways more gifted 
painter, Edouard Detaille, has also 
taken much trouble to make himself 
an expert in this particular realm. 
Detaille has painted a number of 
striking Napoleonic pictures, and we 
may well mention a large canvas in 
the Hotel de Ville at Paris, its subject 
the return of the Grande Arm6e to 
Paris in 1806, together with one 
depicting the young Bonaparte in 
Egypt. 

Bidding adieu to France and her 
artists, we may pause to note that 
Napoleonic pictures are specially 
popular in America, and a monumental 
biography of the Emperor by an 
American scholar, William Milligan 
Sloane (published New York, 1896), 
contains a harvest of works of this 
sort, contributed by different men. 
Then, turning to England, the first 
name which occurs to us is that of 
Turner; for, though it is by his land- 
scapes that this great master is chiefly 
famous, he made occasional excursions 
into genre, and one of his pictures of 
this kind has for topic the imperial exile 
at St. Helena. It is just possible that 
Turner saw N. when the latter was 
brought to England after Waterloo, 
while one early-Victorian painter who 
certainly witnessed the captive on this 
occasion is Sir Charles Lock Eastlake 
(1793-1865), who subsequently trans- 
ferred his impression of the sight to 
canvas. A more familiar rendering 
of N. on board the Bellerophon is that 
of the Scotsman, Sir William Quiller 
Orchardson (1832-1910), who painted 
several other Napoleonic canvases, 
notably one figuring the Emperor 
engaged in a mild altercation with Las 
Cases ; and, if these paintings are 
somewhat cold and uninspired, some- 
what lacking in verve, they are mostly 
redeemed by skilful draughtsmanship 
and good colour. This last can 
scarcely be said for a picture by James 
Sant, St. Helena: The Last Phase; 
yet there is something curiously 



3.S4 



PIEDMONT 

impressive about the pallid face 
shown here, something curiously 
poig-nant about the eyes, which seem 
to follow us hither and thither. Now 
jn the possession of the Glasgow 
Municipal Gallery, Sant's work was 
for some time the property of the Earl 
of Rosebery, in whose well-known con- 
tribution to Napoleonic history it 
appears as an illustration; andl it is 
accordingly almost as widely known 
as any analogous picture ; it has 
served, as surely as the studies of 
Delaroche, Meissonier, and Orchard- 
son, to give the great public a certain 
definite, if inaccurate, conception of 
the visage of the Emperor. He has 
outlived himself completely, so to 
speak — outlived himself, perhaps, more 
completely than any other hero of the 
past — -and painters are largely re- 
sponsible for this. 

Piedmont. — A district of northern 
Italy, comprising the upper valley of 
the Po. Its boundaries are, on the 
north Switzerland, omi the south 
Liguria, on the east Lombardy, and 
on the west France. At the time of 
the French Revolution, the kingdom 
of Sardinia, including Piedmont and 
Savoy, took the part of the Royalists, 
with disastrous results. In spite of 
the gallant resistance of Piedmont, the 
Sardinians were everywhere defeated, 
and their king, Victor, was forced to 
sign an armistice at Cherascoi (1796). 
He was succeeded by his son Charles 
Emmanuel IV., who weakly entered 
into a confederation, with France, for- 
feiting his people's independence by 
the cession of Turin. This was a fatal 
step; the Sardinian monarch, seeing 
that he could not hope to retain this 
portion of his dominions, resigned the 
thronei of Piedmont (6 Dec. 1797) and 
withdrew, leaving the French in 
possession. Later, during N.'s 
Egyptian campaign, Charles Em- 
manuel attempted the recovery of his 
Piedmontese territory, but in vain. 
The success of N.'s arms at Marengo 
sufficed to crush the king, who retired 
to Naples, took holy orders, and died 
in 1819. 

Meanwhile the First Consul, who 
desired to incorporate Piedmont with 
France because of its strategical im- 
portance as an avenue to Italy, was 



PIEDMONT 

deterred in his project by the opposi- 
tion of Paul I., Tsar of Russia, who 
stoutly championed the King of Sar- 
dinia. However, on 24 March 1801 
Paul was assassinated, and the way 
was clear for annexation. After the 
battle of Copenhagen, while negotia- 
tions for peace were being carried on 
in London, N. informed various 
foreign courts that he purposed a pro- 
visional organization of Piedmont, but 
his words to General Jourdan, com- 
manding the army of occupation, 
were : " This organization is merely a 
first step towards annexation." To 
the agents of Charles Emmanuel he 
said that while their ports were openi 
to England, he must refuse to treat 
with their king. He had, however,- 
already determined not to give up 
Piedmont; and when on 11 Oct. 1802 
a treaty was arranged between France 
and Russia, it merely contained a 
clause by which the monarchs of these 
countries agreed "to concern them- 
selves in friendly concert with the in- 
terests of His Majesty the King of 
Sardinia, and to treat them with aM 
the consideration compatible with the 
actual state of things." N.'s reasons 
for annexing- Piedmont are obvious. 
It was his policy in Italy, as elsewhere, 
to break up conquered territory into 
small states, entirely dependent on 
France, and entirely lacking in 
coherence and mutual support. In 
Piedmont also N. held a position of 
considerable strategical importance, 
such as would be of value in the Euro- 
pean struggle which he already fore- 
saw. Moreover, the Piedmontese were 
ai race of hardy physique and military 
tendencies, and would be likely to 
prove good conscripts. 

On 21 April 1801 Bonaparte issued 
a provisional decree making Piedmont 
a French province under military con- 
trol. On 21 Sept. of the following 
year this was replaced by civil 
administration, and from that time 
until 1 81 4 it was governed as a French 
province, under French laws, with 
French as the official tongue. In 1805, 
too, the fiscal system of the Empire 
was given to Piedmont. Feudal dues 
were done away with, and for the loss 
of these many of the nobility were 
compensated by official appointments. 



355 



PIEDMONT 

Piedmont was divided into six depart- 
ments, under a governor, General 
JVIenou, whose term of office lasted 
from 1803 to 1808, during- which, time 
he acoomplished various beneficent 
public works, while N. himself, who 
paid a visit to the province in 1805, 
made further suggestions for the 
betterment of its condition. In 1808 
Menou was succeeded by a " Governor- 
General of the departments beyond the 
Alps," Prince Camille Borghese, who 
Siad married N.'s sister Pauline. His 
district comprised Piedmont and 
I-riguria, while Parma, Piacenza, and 
Guastalla had already been included 
under the government of Piedmont. 
The appointment of Prince Borghese 
was designed to compensate the Pied- 
montese for the social advantages they 
had lost with the Sardinian court. He 
was, in fact, a mere figure-head, withf- 
out talent or ability, and having little 
need for either, since his duties con- 
sisted of holding levees and giving 
banquets, and the yielding of implicit 
obedience to the commands of the 
Emperor. 

Notwithstanding that the taxes were 
heavy and the conscription severely 
enforced, French rule was accepted by 
the Piedmontese with equanimity. 
They were, as has been said, a military 
race, who viewed compulsory service 
with anything but disfavour. The 
noble families were monarchical in 
their tendencies, but if many of their 
members remained loyal to the House 
of Savoy, others were content to 
accept the sovereignty of the Emperor 
Napoleon and to enter the Senate of 
the Empire or thei legislative body, 
while two even found their way into 
the Council of State. The imposition 
of the French tongue, which among 
the well-to-do had long been in vogue, 
was somewhat of a burden to the 
rustic population. On the other hand, 
the restoration of peace after the 
turbulent period of the Austro-Russian 
And French invasions enabled them to 
return to their agricultural and com- 
mercial avocations, and something like 
prosperity reigned once more. On the 
whole, N.'s administration in Pied- 
mont was conspicuously successful. 
By a provision of the Final Act (9 June 
1815) at the Congress of Vienna, Pied- 



PITT 

mont was restored to the House of 
Savoy, in the person of Victor 
Emmanuel, younger brother of Charles 
Emmianuel IV. 

Pierron.— The butler at Longwood. 
He remained with the Emperor 
throughout his captivity on the island, 
to which he returned in 1840 for the 
exhumation. 

Piombino.— A principality in Italy, 
previously ruled by the Appiani family ; 
was in 1589 acquired by the Spaniards. 
It was ceded to France in 1801 and 
given! by N. to his sister Elisa 
Bacciochi (q.v.), who held it from 1805 
to 181 5, when it was restored to the 
Buoncompagni Ludovici family, sub- 
ject to Tuscany. In i860 it became part 
of the kingdom of Italy. Piombino 
lies at the southern extremity of the 
peninsula of the Monte Massoncello 
and is the port of embarkation for 
Elba, the nearest pdint of which is 
about six miles to the south-west, 

Pitt, William (1759-1806).— 
British statesman; was born at Hayes 
on 28 May 1759 and educated at Cam- 
bridge. In Jan. 1781 he entered 
Parliament for Appleby, and in July 
of the following year, at the age of 
twenty-three, he took office in the Shel- 
burne ministry as Chancellor of the 
Exchequer. His reputation steadily 
increased, so that when Lord Shel- 
burne resigned the King pressed Pitt 
to accept the leadership. Pitt, how- 
ever, refused, nor would he accept 
office under the Fox-North Coalition 
which followed. But when the 
ministry was dismissed after the pass- 
ing of the India Bill he became Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer and First Lord 
of the Treasury (Dec. 1783). In the 
House of Commons the task which 
faced the young statesman called for 
almost superhuman powers. He had 
but one supporter of any ability — 
Dundas — while on the opposite side 
was a large majority headed by Burke, 
North, Fox, and Sheridan. The un- 
equal contest lasted for three months, 
but in the end Pitt won. An election 
in March placed him at the head of an 
administration which lasted for seven- 
teen years. 

The first part of this administration 
(1784-92) was beyond reproach; his 
domestic policy was admirable, and 



356 



PIUS 

Britain's prestig^e among the nations of 
Europe was much increased. But the 
same could not be said of the second 
per'iod of his administration. Through- 
out the French Revolution Pitt main- 
tained a policy of non-intervention and 
strove hard for peace ; but overwhelm- 
ing- public opinion forced him into a 
war With France, for which he was 
afterwards blamed both by French and 
British. He showed himself singularly 
unfitted to cope with) the situations 
arising out of the war, showed him- 
self even unappreciative of the great 
issues which were at stake. No single 
brilliant stroke of military policy dis^ 
tinguished this period; the army was 
a disgrace to Britain ; and Pitt did his 
best to reduce the navy to the same 
state of inefficiency by appointing his 
brother First Lord of the Admiralty, 
a position for which he had no qualifi- 
cations wJiatever. Meanwhile by a 
curious anomaly Pitt retained his 
authority in the House of Commons, 
and it was only on the rock of 
Catholic emancipation that his ministry 
finally came to gfief. Addington, a 
man of small talents in comparison 
with Pitt, now formed a ministry last- 
ing from 1801 to 1804, in which Pitt 
scorned to take office. For a time the 
treaty of Amiens gave to the country a 
feeling of security, which was spteedily 
dissipated by the restive attitude of the 
First Consul. At length war was de- 
clared, invasion threatened, and the 
tottering ministry overthrown. 

Pitt's second administration was 
handicapped by the King's prejudice 
against Fox's admission to the 
Cabinet. Later he was deprived of 
other supporters. The strain began 
to tell on his health. In 1805 came 
news of the disaster at Ulm, to be 
followed and partially discounted by 
the glorious victory of Trafalgar. But 
Austerlitz struck down the great 
minister as with a crushing blow ; he 
sank gradually, and died at Putney on 
23 Jan. 1806. 

Pius VII. (Luigi Barnaba Chiara- 
monti) (1740-1823).— Became Pope 
in March 1800. At the time of 
his election the Papal States enjoyed 
comparative peace, as the French 
troops had been withdrawn. Aware of 
N.'s wish to re-establish Roman 



PIUS 

Catholicism in France, Pius and his 
cardinals drew up the famous Con- 
cordat, but its efficacy was consider- 
ably impaired by the addition to it of 
certain Articles organiques by the 
French Government. N. prevailed 
upon His Holiness by means of 
promises of future concessions to come 
to Paris in 1804 and consecrate his 
coronation, and Josephine confessing- 
to him that she was not ecclesiastically 
married to N., Pius insisted on their 
remarriage. N.'s treatment of the 
Pope during this visit was a curious 
mixture of reverence and familiarity. 
He seems to have had an almost super- 
stitious faith in the consecration 
ceremony, yet subjected hSmi who per- 
formed it to many indignities. Pius 
remained in Paris for four months, re- 
turning to Rome with glowing accounts 
of the Emperor's intentions, which, 
however, were never consummated. 
Indeed, in 1808 N. invaded the Holy 
See and annexed the Papal States to 
the French Empire. Naturally a rup^- 
ture of diplomatic relations between 
the Emperor and Pius was the result, 
and a papal bull was issued excom- 
municating the invaders. The Pope 
was requested to repeal this bull, and 
on his declining to do so was seized 
and imprisoned at Grenoble and later 
at Savona. During this time be seems 
to have been harshly treated by his 
captors, but in 181 2 N, caused the old 
and ailing man to be brought to Fon- 
tainebleau, where he lived regally until, 
the Emperor's return from Moscow. 
Pius was then forced, against his con- 
science, to assent to another Con- 
cordat, which promise, however, he- 
soon retracted. N.'s fall in 181 4 per- 
mitted him to return to Rome, and the 
Congress of Vienna (181 5) restored his 
papal dominions, at the same time re- 
pealing the French leg^islation which 
had been introduced into them. His 
remaining years were spent at Rome, 
and it is recorded that in spite of the 
unkind treatment meted out to him- by 
N. he always extended the utmost 
generosity to the family of the fallen 
Emperor. 

Regarding N.'s relations with 
Pius VII., one must bear in mind that 
N. never realized the Pope to be a 
mere puppet in the hands of his 



357 



PLEISWITZ 

cardinals : he believed bimi to be abso- 
lute monarch in his king'dom, as N. 
was in France ; and consequently he 
could not understand how the Pope's 
personal promises were so often 
repudiated from, Rome. He was con- 
vinced that he possessed an influence 
over the Pope, and he did not know 
that in reality the cardinals (the agents 
of the aristocrats) were omnipotent in 
the Church of Rome, and they had 
planned his doM'nfall and the downfall 
of revolutionary France. 

Pieiswitz (Poischwitz), Armis- 
tice of.— One of the most disastrous 
steps in N.'s military career was taken 
when he sigTied the armistice of Pieis- 
witz, on 4 June 1813, during- the War 
of Liberation. It is true that his army 
was in a sad condition, yet the position 
of the Allies was, if anything, still 
worse, and had N. boldly continued 
hostilities he might even then have 
righted himself. The armistice was 
largely organized by Mettemich, who 
desire-d to maintain Austria's position 
as " armed mediator " tiU she had time 
to complete her armaments. The 
armistice was signed by three com- 
missioners, Shuvaloff, Kleist, and 
Caulaincourt, representing Russia, 
Prussia, and France. 

Poland. —One of tho smaller coun- 
tries of eastern Europe, which ranked 
as a separate kingdom until the end of 
the eighteenth century, but from that 
time till the settlement in 191 9 after 
the Great War was divided between 
its powerful neighbours, Russia, Aus- 
tria, and Germany, the first of which 
bounds it on the north, the second on 
the south, and Germany on the west. 
Its population consists mainly of Poles, 
w^ho are of Slavonic origin, Lithu- 
anians, Germans, and Jews. 

In 1772, during the reign of Stanis- 
laus II., a partition was deemed ex- 
pedient by the European military 
powers, and Poland lost about a 
fourth of her territory and a fifth of 
her population, for which she received 
a better constitution from her parti- 
tioners. Fired with the success of the 
French Assembly, and desirous to re- 
generate their own country, the Poles 
rose in revolution in 1791, and suc- 
ceeded in founding a constitutional 
monarchy in place of an aristocratic 



POLAND 

government. But under pressure from 
Russia and Prussia the second treaty 
of partition was signed in Sept. 1793, 
and Poland was left with a third of 
her original domains and a population 
of three and a half millions. 

Poland at this time held the atten- 
tion of the eastern. European powers, 
who were thereby to a certain extent 
prevented from realizing the trend of 
affairs in the west ; while the western 
powers we're too fully occupied in their 
coalition against N. to be able to resist 
the partition of that unfortunate 
country. 

In 1794 the Poles rose against their 
invaders and rapidly drove the Prus- 
sians out of Poland; but they were 
eventually defeated by the Russians, 
who occupied Warsaw. The third and 
last defiance of right and international 
law took place in 1795, when Poland 
was divided between Austria, Prussia, 
and Russia. Following upon this 
partition, great numbers of the Poles 
left their country and jbined N., fight- 
ing his battles all over Europe — the 
name of the Polish lancers being 
feared by the troops of all his adver- 
saries. From this time many of the 
Polish patriots looked to N. as a 
possible deliverer and restorer of their 
national rights. 

Poland now became the political 
cat's paw of N., who used her for his 
own ends in an unprincipled manner ; 
and though no doubt he may have 
faced the possibility of a redeemed 
Poland, the suggestion alone served 
his purpose as a weapon against 
Russia, and he went no further. In 
1806 he announced that France had 
never acknowledged the partition, and 
later he entered Posen as the "liberator 
of Poland " amidst great enthusiasm. 
Warsaw was his headquarters for some 
time, and while' there he joined in the 
sodial life of the city. Meanwhile the 
people of Poland were divided — one 
party holding themselves aloof, a 
second throwing themselves on N.'s 
promises and goodwill, and a third 
preferring to rely on the Tsar for 
emancipation. 

After the peace of Tilsit in 1807 the 
lands of Warsaw, the province of 
Posen, and certain other tracts of land 
were made into the grand-duchy of 



358 



POLAND 

Warsaw and g-iven to the King* of 
Saxony as a separate sovereig"nty. The 
treaty of Schonbrunn in 1809 materially 
enlarged this grand-duchy. Several of 
N.'s marshals and gfenerals were given 
lands in Poland — many of them of 
great extent. 

Im 1810 the Tsar attempted! to win 
the Poles to his side, but his induce- 
ments were not sufficient to tempt N.'s 
followers to desert him. The following- 
year a rupture took place between 
Russia and N. over Poland, and this 
was probably one of the causes of the 
war of 1812. Alexander II. of Russia 
desired N. to make a formal promise 
that Poland would never be restored as 
a country and its name never officially 
used'. In reply N. forwarded to Russia 
a counter-promise " never tO! g^ive help 
or assistance to any power or to any 
internal rising- whatsoever looking" to a 
restoration of Poland," to which 
Alexander's answer was a document 
containing- the identical words " that 
the kingdom^ of Poland shall never be 
restored." 

Hampered by his dynastic alliance, 
N. could no long-er appeal to Polish 
sentiment ; and in reply to a deputa- 
tion of Poles who waited upon him 
requesting- the restoration of Poland, 
he had to say that he had promised 
the Emj>eror of Austria the integrity 
of his domains in Poland. This some- 
what cooled the Polish ardour, and 
N.'s later appeal for a national' rising- 
met with but a feeble response, 
althoug-h about 60,000 Poles fought for 
N, in his first campaign with Russia. 

After N.'s retreat from Moscow in 
181 2' the grand-duchy of Warsaw was 
no more, and in Feb. 181 3 the Rus- 
sians invaded it, occupying* Warsaw 
and thus taking possession of the 
country. Many of the Polish soldiers, 
however, continued to follow N.'s 
fortuhesi in 1813 and 1814. 

At the Congress of Vienna the dis- 
position of Poland formed one of the 
burning points of controversy. Finally 
Danzig, Thorn, and the province of 
Posen were ceded to Prussia, Austria 
acquired Galicia, and Russia the re- 
mainder of Poland. The Tsar fulfilled 
his promise of reigning as a con- 
stitutional king, and granted a con- 
stitution to Poland similar to that 



PONIATOWSKI 

established in France by Lx)uis XVIII. 's 
Charter, with the proviso that all 
officials should be Poles and that 
Polish should be the official language. 
This charter was, however, set aside 
by Nicholas I, in 1825. 

Polotsk, Battle of (Russian Cam- 
paignj. — During the retreat from Mos- 
cow a Franco-Bavarian Army under 
St. Cyr occupied an entrenched camp 
at Polotsk, which was attacked by 
Wittgenstein in command of 30,000 
Russians on 18 Oct. 1812. St. Cyr 
held his position until night put an 
end to the fighting and the Russians 
withdrew from the entrenchments. But 
on the following morning the Russians 
were assisted by reinforcements under. 
Steingell, who attacked from the 
opposite direction, and St. Cyr was 
eventually forced to retreat, though 
he saved almost the whole of his 
artillery. 

Poniatovtfski, Joseph Anthony 
(1763 - 1813). — Polish prince and 
French marshal; was born at War- 
saw, and, embracing the military 
profession, first saw active service 
in the Austrian campaign against 
the Turks in 1788. He returned to 
Poland, became commander-in-chief 
of the army after the constitution 
was proclaimed, and fought bravely 
in many of the battles against 
Russia. When the King of Poland 
assented to the confederation of 
Targowica, Poniatowski resigned his 
position and emigrated, but returned 
to fight for his country in the Kos- 
cuiszko rebellion. In 1806 he headed 
the party in Poland which hoped for 
their country's redemption by N. ; and 
when the grand-duchy of Warsaw was 
created in 1807 he was appointed 
minister of war and commander-in- 
chief. In 1809 the Austrians invaded 
the grand-duchy, but Poniatowski 
eventually forced them to evacuate 
Warsaw, and in his turn invaded 
Galicia. He brought to N.'s aid 
for the invasion of Russia a corps 
of 36,000 Poles, and shared with the 
Emperor the horrors of that disastrous 
campaign, distinguishing himself at 
Smolensk and Borodino. He adhered 
to his allegiance to N., and with fresh 
troops, amounting to 13,000 men, he 
rejoined the Emperor at Liitzen. Brave 



359 



PONS 

to a degree, Poniatowski's death was 
that of a hero. Through the three 
days' fighting at Leipsiic he led his 
men in the midst of danger, receiv- 
ing for his services a marshal's baton 
and that greatest of all honours — the 
covering of a retreat. Doggedly and 
fiercely his men foug'ht while their 
comrades crossed the Elster in com- 
parative safety. Then came the pre- 
mature destruction of the bridge, 
spelling for Poniatowski and his men 
surrender or death. Already covered 
with wounds, but contesting every 
inchi of the way, he and his com- 
panions were forced gradually, step 
by step, back towards the river. 
Death with honour was his choice ; 
into the waters of the Elster he 
plunged on horseback, but to gain 
the opposite bank proved imp>osslible 
to the exhausted man and beast. 
His remains were recovered some 
days after, and now lie in Cracow 
cathedral. 

Pons de L'H^rault, Andr^ (1772- 
1858). — Administrator of the Rio 
mines during N.'s exile in Elba. The 
son of tradespeople, Pons was born 
at Cette in 1772, and early in life 
entered the merchant service. Later 
he joined the navy, and at the time 
of the Revolution had exchanged into 
the army, taking part in the siege of 
Toulon (1793) as a captain of artillery. 
It was at Toulon that Pons first met 
N., and little would either of the 
men dream of the circumstances which 
were to bring them together in later 
years. In 1809 Pons was appointed 
administrator of the famous iron 
mines in Elba, and was one of the 
deputation who received N. on his 
arrival there (3 May 181 4). He was 
a republican, and from this standpoint 
he never swerved ; but, at the same 
time, his admiration for the Emperor 
as a man was very great, and he 
clearly recognized N.'s genius. Pons 
was commissioned by the Emperor to 
write the story of his Elban phase, 
and with this in view he made a most 
careful study of N., having unique 
opportunities for so doing. It was 
not, however, until the end of the 
nineteenth century, forty years after 
his death, that his notes were pub- 
lished by L. G. P^lissier in two 



PONS 

volumes. Souvenirs et Anecdotes de 
rile d'Elhe (1897) and Memoir e aux 
Puissances Allies (1899). His work 
is worthy of attention in that it is 
an honest record of N. as he appeared 
to a contemporary at that period of 
his career ; it is unbiased, free from 
exaggeration, and reliable — a. study by 
one who admired yet did not wholly 
approve. The relations between the 
two men were often strained almost 
to breaking- point, and several times 
Pons offered to resign his post, but 
N. would never allow him to do so. 
The Emperor was intolerant of Pons' 
sturdy independence, an independence 
which involved the refusal of many of 
his demands and seriously annoyed 
him. Pons gives us a clue to N.'s 
attitude whilst an exile in Elba. He 
says: "The Emperor was tortured 
with the idea that he was being be- 
littled. He leaned even more upon 
his imperial grandeur than upon his 
military glory. Perhaps he was rig'ht. 
His military glory was an immortal 
and accomplished fact. ... It was not 
the same with his imj>erial grandeur. 
However immense that may have been, 
fate had broken it, and he alone, the 
man, the great man, remained superior 
to events. It was, above all, the man 
whom one respected in the Emperor." 
Pons' home was taken over by N. 
(without payment), to be his residence 
at Rio, and although the administrator 
and his family were permitted to live 
there when N. was elsewhere, yet on 
the latter's arrival at Rio Pons had 
to remove into a small house, which 
was quite unsuited to his require- 
ments. In spite of the many disagree- 
ments which took place between them, 
it was to Pons alone that the Em- 
peror confided his plans for his re- 
turn to Paris — because, as N. himself 
stated to Montholon at St. Helena, 
"his co-operation was indispensable 
for the preparation of the vessels of 
transport which were necessary " ; and 
he was one of the little band which 
followed Bonaparte's carriage down 
from the Mulini palace to the em- 
barkation quay. Pons received the 
appointment of councillor of state 
under the Second Republic, He died 
in the year 1858 at the age of eighty- 
six. 



360 



PONTIVY 

Pontivy.— A town rebuilt by N. in 
1804 in the department of the Morbi- 
han. It was the seat of the Vendean 
and Chouan wars ; and in order to 
watch the royalist parties N. caused 
barracks and other building-s to be 
erected there. The old part of the 
town still cling-s to the name Pontivy, 
while the portion constructed by order 
of the Emperor is now known as 
Napol^onville. 

Porteous, William.— Superin- 
tendent of the Honourable East 
India Company's gardens at St. 
Helena. He kept a board i:ng--house 
in Jamestown, at which N. spent his 
first nig"ht on the island. 

Portraits of Napoleon.— It was 
natural and inevitable that a man of 
N.'s temperament should have his por- 
trait painted often, but as reg^ards the 
artists whom he employed he had by 
no means the good fortune of some 
previous French sovereigns. No past 
master like Clouet was forthcoming, 
as in the days of Henri II., no De la 
Tour or Largilli^re as in the time of 
Louis XV., and indeed the Napoleonic 
period does not hold a high place in 
the annals of French painting. The 
superb impetus which followed 
Watteau flickered to its close when 
the Revolution forced the Watteau- 
esque Fragonard to fly from Paris, 
and retire to his native village of 
Grasse in Provence ; and thenceforth, 
till the advent of the Romantic group, 
some ten years after Waterloo, the 
bulk of French artists practised a cold, 
unimpassioned, and too often pompous 
manner — a manner recalling that 
which held sway in the days of 
Rigaud, Le Brun, and De la Fosse. 
But if, accordingly, N. had not the 
chance of engaging portrait-painters 
of the highest order, at least he com- 
missioned the best available talent; 
and, in truth, with the exception of 
Ingres, there is scarcely a notable 
artist of the Napoleonic period who 
did not execute a likeness of the Em- 
I>eror, Nor did he confine his patron- 
age to men of reputation, for among 
those he employed to perpetuate his 
semblance are quite a number who are 
literally forgotten save for their works 
in this relation. 

There are upwards of twenty por- 



PORTRAIT& 

traits of Napoleon, and hardly two are 
alike, yet it is just in this diversity that 
their unique interest lies. The Em- 
peror's skull, according to expert phren- 
ologists, was marked by a greater num- 
ber of significant protuberances than 
that of any other man on record. 
Nearly every known gift or taste, they 
declare, was indicated by the shape of 
his head, and to this fact is traceable 
the extraordinary difference between 
his likenesses. One man perceived 
chiefly one particular aspect, another 
was impressed by the indication of 
some wholly different faculty ; and 
N. 's portraiture, in consequence^ 
throws light on the whole of his 
character, and forms as valuable an 
illumination thereof as any writings on 
the subject. 

Only a few of the Emperor's por- 
traits are dated, and thus it is difficult 
to arrange them in absolutely chrono- 
logical order ; but probably the earliest 
is one at Versailles by an otherwise 
forgotten artist named Phillipsteaux, 
and singularly winning is the face de- 
picted here. We come after this to a 
portrait by Alexandre Fragonard (1780- 
1850), a son of the great Fragonard, 
which can be approximately dated, be- 
cause a contemporaneous engraving" 
thereof has the title, " Bonaparte : 
G6neral en chef de I'Arm^e d'ltalie" ; 
while again, it is likely that a painting" 
by an Italian artist called Rusca was 
done at the same time as Fragonard's,. 
for a distinct similarity exists between 
the two. We come next to two por- 
traits in which N. is entitled "Premier 
Consul," and which may therefore be 
assigned to about, or soon after, the 
year 1799, these two being a small 
colour engraving by a Frenchman, 
Charles Levachez, and a full-length by- 
Jean Baptiste Isabey (1767-1859), a 
Parisian painter destined later on to- 
enjoy great patronage from the Em- 
peror and his entourage. The last four- 
pictures show a harder, more deter- 
mined expression than that figured by 
Phillipsteaux and Fragonard, and it is 
clear that N.'s face was inclining thus- 
simultaneously with the growth of his, 
power, the fact being further witnessed 
by two portraits by Andrea Appiani, a. 
Milanese artist, whose skill came under 
Bonaparte's notice during his con- 



361 



PORTRAITS 

quest of Italy. A fult-leng^thi by 
Hilaire le Dru, a Frenchman who also 
painted pictures of several of N.'s 
more notable officers, was probably 
painted about the time of the foreg-oingf 
pair ; while passing- on we come to 
four portraits which, inasmuch as they 
depict the Emperor in regal attire, 
must be ascribed to the time of his 
coronation in 1804, and were indeed 
possibly executed to celebrate that 
<event. Three of these are by other- 
wise forgotten men, Gamerey, Desrais, 
and Chatillon ; while the fourth is the 
"work of Baron Gerard (1770-1837), a 
Parisian artist whom the Emperor 
greatly favoured, and who is also re- 
inembered by his likeness of Talley- 
rand. These coronation pictures all 
exhibit no little vanity on the sitter's 
part, an addiction to pomp and 
splendour ; while turning to subsequent 
works, we are struck once again by 
the singular hardness of the face 
-delineated. We see this in two en- 
.gravings by little-known men, 
Duplessis-Bertaux and Bertrand, and 
■we mark it, too, in a fine print entitled 
" Napoleon Bonaparte : from an 
original drawing made from the life, 
a short time previous to the Russian 
campaign, by a gentleman of his suite, 
engraved by W. Nicholls." We note 
this hard aspect once more in a por- 
trait by one Vignen, and in a further 
likeness by Isabey ; yet it is wholly 
absent from a fine likeness by the Em- 
peror's favourite portrait-painter, 
Jacques Louis David, while it is little 
in evidence in a picture by one of the 
tatter's many pupils, Anne Louis 
<jiirodet-Trioson. The latter pair are 
l30th known to have been painted in 
1812, but it is virtually impossible to 
'date three other portraits, the work 
respectively of Vanthier, Lef^vre, and 
Hodges, artists of whom little or 
-nothing is known. These three works, 
however, have the semblance of be- 
longing to the same period as David's 
one ; while a portrait which suggests a 
slightly, later date is a beautiful minia- 
ture by Muneret, now in the Wallace 
Collection, London. In this picture we 
are struck by the gloomy expression, 
and this is still more marked in a full- 
length drawing of the Emperor which, 
at present in the collection of a clergy- 



POZZO 

man, the Rev. R. A. Gatty, was done 
on board the Bellerophon by a mid- 
shipman, whose name, unfortunately, 
has not been preserved. As regards 
further anonymous likenesses, there is 
one in the W^allace Collection which 
shows N. in the costume of the Institut 
Franfais; while Mr. Bemey-Ficklin, of 
Tasburgh Hall, near Norwich, pos- 
sesses a fine miniature of the Emperor 
which bears no name, but is in all 
likelihood from the hand of Muneret. 
In conclusion, it is interesting to note 
that the English artist. Sir Charles 
Eastlake (1793-1865), happening to be 
at Plymouth when the captive Emperor 
arrived there, seized every available 
opportunity of studying the latter's 
physiognomy, and produced as result 
a huge picture depicting N. surrounded 
by some of his officers which is 
now in the possession of the Marquis 
of Lansdowne. Not a portrait in the 
ordinary sense of the term, it yet can 
claim a certain amount of value as 
a likeness ; and analogous value per- 
tains to numerous other historical 
paintings in which the Emperor is in- 
cluded, those, for example, of Carle 
Vernet {1758- 1836) and Baron Gros, 
who were both brought into personal 
contact with N. , and may have sketched 
him from life. A basis of this sort 
belongs also, perhaps, to the Napo- 
leonic pictures of Delaroche and 
Charlet, both of whom, in boyhood at 
least, must frequently have seen the 
Emperor; but the familiar works of 
Meissonier, on the contrary, are purely 
imaginative, for that artist was not 
born till 1813. 

Posen, Treaty of (11 Dec. 1806).— 
Concluded between France, Prussia, 
and Saxony, its provisions were : 
(i) Saxony was to join the Confedera- 
tion of the Rhine ; (2) she was to pro- 
vide a contingent of 20,000 men 
(though only 6,000 were taken) for the 
campaign then progressing. The 
elector obtained the title of king. 
Weimar and the other minor Saxon 
states gained admittance two days 
afterwards to the confederation. 

Pozzo di Borgo, Carlo Andrea 
(1764-1842). — Was born at Alata, a 
village near Ajaccio on 8 March 1764. 
He is known to fame as the implacable 
foe of N., one who never rested till he 



362 



POZZO 

had, with marv^ellous skill, manipulated 
international politics to the undoing of 
his enemy. It was the Corsican ven- 
detta transferred to history, its 
weapons the intrigpues of diplomacy, its 
coup de grdce involving the destinies 
of nations. 

The family of Pozzo di Borgo was 
one of ancient nobility and long 
famous in Corsica, whilst several of 
their number distinguished themselves 
•in the service of Venice in the sixteenth 
century. 

Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo was in 
early youth a close friend of Joseph 
and Napoleon Buonaparte. His edu- 
cation was obtained at Pisa and the 
Buonapartes' in France, but during the 
holiday periods they fraternized, for 
their families were then closely allied 
in politics. One account records how 
Carlo and N. used to sit on the terrace 
of the Casa Buonaparte reading 
Montesquieu and other writers wdth 
avidity ; whilst it was to Carlo that N. 
confided the difficulties of his life at 
Brienne. As youths, their sympathies 
harmonized, both were democratic and 
republican, but later political jealousies 
arose, when Paoli, finding the Buona- 
partes too ambitious and individual- 
istic, favoured Pozzo as being at once 
more amenable and tactful and as able. 
The latter was therefore chosen as 
one of the two delegates to the 
National Asseftibly in Paris to de- 
mand the political incorporation of 
Corsica in France. Next, when the 
six deputies to the Legislative 
Assenribly were nominated, Paoli, who 
dominated the elections, did not even 
propose Joseph Buonaparte, though 
one of the foremost young men in the 
island, whilst Pozzo was nominated, 
and finally elected as deputy of 
Ajaccio. The feud between the 
families commenced, however, when 
N., arriving at Ajaccio, sought elec- 
tion to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 
Corsican volunteers, with a brother 
of Pozzo as one of his rivals. The 
high-handed methods of N. and his 
party to secure a favourable return, 
such as the seizure by force of one of 
the commissioners who happened to 
be lodging in a rival's house, roused 
the enmity of their former friends, 
amongst them the Pozzo di Borgos, 



POZZO 

one of whose number it is said was 
trampled in the attendant brawls. 

In the Legislative Assembly, Pozzo 
di Borgo sat on the benches of the 
right until Aug. 1792, when he re- 
turned to Corsica, and under the 
new constitution became procureur- 
general-syndic, chief of the civil 
government, while Paoli commanded 
the army. The breach with the 
Buonapartes was now complete. Con- 
sequent upon Lucien's {q,-"^-) de- 
nunciation of Paoli at Toulon, he, to- 
gether with Pozzo di Borgo, was 
cited to appear before the Convention. 
N. had known nothing of Lucien's 
attack, and on hearing that Paoli was 
suspected, wrote in eloquent defence 
of the national hero, but the break 
between them was beyond repair, and 
when the Paolist party triumphed, the 
Buonaparte family was forced to flee 
to France. Paoli and his coadjutor 
having refused to obey the summons 
of the Convention were now in open 
rebellion to French rule, and nego- 
tiated for and received foreign help. 
When Corsica came under English 
protection. Sir Gilbert Elliott was 
appointed viceroy with Pozzo as presi- 
dent of the Corsican Council. For 
some inscrutable reason it was con- 
sidered advisable that Paoli should 
retire from Corsican affairs, and it 
was stated in some quarters that 
Pozzo di Borgo, by his diplomacy, 
had brought his patron into discredit 
with the English authorities in order 
to dominate affairs himself. 

When N. sent troops to occupy Cor- 
sica Pozzo fled, for his name was ex- 
cepted from the general amnesty. He 
took refuge in Rome, but the French 
authorities demanded his expulsion, 
and ordered his arrest in northern 
Italy. He escaped to London, and 
again came into touch with Sir Gilbert 
Elliott, now Lord Minto, and on the 
latter's appointment to Vienna (1798) 
on an embassy Pozzo accompanied 
him. He lived in that capital for six 
years as persona grata in political 
circles. N. kept always close watch 
upon him, knowing well that, though 
holding no official position, this fellow- 
Corsican was a dangerous enemy. 

In 1804 Pozzo di Borgo 's chance 
came. Through the influence of 



362 



POZZO 

Prince Adam Czartoryski he entered 
the Russian diplomatic service, and in 
1805 was Russian commissioner with 
the Ang-lo-Neapolitan and the follow- 
ing year with the Prussian Army. The 
influence he now began to put in force 
against N., in court and cabinet, can 
never be fully gauged. Never for one 
instant was this dominating passion 
forgotten. A temporary check was, 
however, set on his career when, after 
an important mission to Constanti- 
nople, the alliance now arranged 
between Alexander I. and N. rendered 
his retirement necessary. He pro- 
ceeded to Vienna, but N. demanded 
his extradition, and Metternich accord- 
ingly requested him to leave the Aus- 
trian capital. For safety he again 
took refuge in London, where besides 
his many friends he found congenial 
soil for his vindictive hatred. Even 
when the Emperor seemed to have 
reached summits beyond an enemy's 
reach Pozzo never lost heart, so firm 
was his belief in the satisfactory settle- 
ment of the vendetta, a belief 
which appeared in his prophetic 
remark to Sir Stratford Canning 
in a London drawing-room when 
the birth of the King of Rome was 
announced : "Wait for the end. Napo- 
leon is a giant who bends down the 
mighty oaks of the primeval forest ; 
but some day the woodland spirits will 
break from their disgraceful bondage, 
then the oaks will suddenly rebound 
and dash the giant to earth again." 
He was still in touch with continental 
affairs and ever working towards the 
overthrow of his powerful enemy. 
Triumph was his at last when in 181 2 
he was recalled by Alexander. He 
now set himself to inflame the mean 
jealousies of N.'s brothers and sisters, 
he played on the weakness of Murat 
and secured the renegade services of 
Bernadotte. He was the Tsar's right 
hand in all afi'airs connected with the 
Emperor, and at Moscow was the in- 
stigator of Alexander's refusal to make 
peace with the defeated N. It was 
Pozzo di Borgo who instigated the 
rapid march of the Allies against Paris ; 
he was behind the Tsar's demand for 
N.'s abdication, and when Alexander 
was almost vanquished by the pleas 
of Caulaincourt, Ney, and Macdonald 



POZZO 

for a regency, it was Pozzo who kept 
him from this concession, and in one 
early dawn had the inexpressible 
triumph of watching Marmont with bis 
army corps coming to play traitor to 
the Emperor — the final proof that the 
army was not loyal to its one-time 
idol. After this there was no further 
hesitancy — the Emperor must resign 
for himself and his heirs. So the son 
of N. was thrust aside, the Emperor 
was an exile in Elba, and the Bourbons 
had returned. During the Restoration 
Pozzo was appointed Russian am- 
bassador to the Tuileries, and en- 
deavoured to arrange a marriage 
between the Due de Berry and the 
Russian Grand Duchess, Alexander's 
sister. In all affairs connected with 
N.'s family, however — his violent 
hostility being so well known — the 
Tsar had arranged for these details 
to be conducted by a subordinate, M. 
Boutiakim. At the Congress of 
Vienna (q.v.) his influence was thrown 
in the balance against any concession 
being made to N., he demanded that 
the prisoner should be sent from the 
dangerous Elba to a far more distant 
island. During the Hundred Days he 
joined Louis XVIII. in Belgium, and 
together with Wellington, apart from 
discussions of the situation, received 
and treated with all those treacherous 
to N., Fouch^ (^•'^•) among-st them. 
The Tsar, following his dreams of 
liberal policy, had instructed Pozzo to 
allow an appeal to the people of France 
on the subject of the government of 
their country. This appealed to 
Pozzo's democratic sympathies, but 
Wellington refused to make any con- 
cessions to what he denominated 
rebellion. At the final overthrow of 
his mighty enemy and his proscription 
to St. Helena he spoke the famous and 
memorable words : " I have not killed 
Napoleon, but I have cast the last 
spadeful of earth upon him ! " 

Pozzo di Borgo was now made per- 
manent representative of Russia to the 
court of France. He opposed the 
reactionary and consistently supported 
the moderate party and the ministry 
of the Due de Richelieu, a line of con- 
duct which enraged Metternich and 
made him into an enemy, for he blamed 
Pozzo for the Liberal revival in France. 



364 



POZZO 

During- the early years he tried his 
utmost to lessen the burdens laid on 
France by the Allies and especially to 
shorten the period of foreign occupa- 
tion. Paris recognized his sincere 
French sympathies, and the suggestion 
was even made that he should become 
French Minister for Foreign Affairs. 
When Charles X. ascended the throne 
Pozzo's influence at the Tuileries de- 
clined, for the reactionary tendencies 
of that monarch had always repelled 
the Corsican. He rendered valuable 
service to France in 1830 by averting 
differences with Russia when the Tsar 
Nicholas was reluctant to acknowledge 
Louis Philippe. In 183 1 he again 
visited Russia and the following year 
London, where he renewed his friend- 
ship with Wellington. His prestige in 
Russia was damaged by his pro- 
nounced French sympathies, and in 
1835 he received the intimation of his 
transference to the London embassy, 
which, though not endangering his 
official position, sufficiently indicated 
that his influence at the court of the 
Tsar had declined. The climate of 
London affected his health adversely, 
and in 1839 he retired from service 
and settled in Paris, where he died on 
15 Feb. 1842, mentally deranged. The 
title of count had been conferred on 
him in 1818 when he was made a peer 
of France. 

Pozzo di Borgo remained a true Cor- 
sican, keeping to the national customs 
wherever he was and always showing 
his intense love for his native land, 
with which he remained in close touch. 
He instituted the publication of the 
two Corsican historians Filippini and 
Peter, and Gregori dedicated to him a 
collection of the statutes. He in- 
augurated several charitable institu- 
tions in Corsica, and his beneficence 
to his countrymen was unfailing. His 
large fortune he bequeathed to his 
nephews, one of whom was afterwards 
killed in true Corsican fashion for the 
odious manner in which he had dis- 
pensed the charities bequeathed to the 
inhabitants by his uncle. 

It is interesting to recall that the 
treaty of 1831 guaranteeing the in- 
dependence and neutrality of Belgium, 
which was confirmed by the six Powers 
in the treaty of 1839, the breaking of 



PYRAMIDS 

which by Germany was so largely re- 
sponsible for the entry of Great Britain 
into the Great War in 191 4, was 
signed by Pozzo di Borgo as plenipo- 
tentiary on behalf of Russia, his 
co-signatories to the treaty being the 
plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, 
Belgium, Austria, France, and 
Prussia. 

Primolano, Battle of (Italian Cam 
paign). — After defeating an Aus- 
trian division under Davidowich at 
Roveredo (q.v.) on 4 Sept. 1796, N. 
moved rapidly on towards Primo- 
lano, where he overtook the rear- 
guard of the main Austrian army 
under Wiirmser on the 7th, and 
attacked it with such impetuosity 
that the Austrians, who held a strong 
position, were utterly routed with 
the loss of 2,000 prisoners and nine 
guns. 

Prud'hon Pierre (1758-1823).— 
French painter. See Painting. 

Puitusk, Battle of (Fn'edland Cam- 
paign.— On the morning of 26 Dec. 
1806 Lannes, with 35,000 men, fell 
in with a Russian army under Ben- 
nigsen drawn up on a plain and 
carefully concealed by a horde of 
Cossacks near the town of Puitusk. 
Lannes attacked, and when he had 
dispersed the Cossacks the Russians 
were exposed to view. Although 
surprised at the superior numbers 
opposed to him, he pressed forward, 
and a violent struggle took place in 
which the Russians were driven back. 
Reinforced from the town, however, 
they regained their ground, and 
another bloody conflict ensued which 
lasted well into the nig"ht, when a 
terrible storm separated the com- 
batants. Neither side could claim a 
victory, and during the night both 
French and Russians retreated from, 
the field ; the losses on both sides 
were severe and about equal — ^between 
five and six thousand men. 

Pyramids, Battle of the.— During 
the French advance on Cairo in 1798 
N. led an army against the fortified 
camp of the Mamelukesi at Embabeh, 
opposite Cairo (21 July). The French 
divisions on the left rushed the camp, 
while the others, under Desaix and 
Regnier, met the charges of Murad 
Bey's superb cavalry. The musketry 



365 



PYRENEES 

and artillery fire of the French mowed 
down the Mamelukes by thousands, 
arvd the Bey was obligfed to withdraw 
his decimated squadrons. The French 
losses were very small. 

Pyrenees, Battles of the. — A 
series of eng:ag-ements fougfht during- 
the Peninsular War of 1813. Wel- 
lington, part of whose forces were en- 
g'ag'ed in the siege of San Sebastian 
(q.v.), suspended the operations there 
in order to meet Soult, who with 



QUIBEIRON 



Q 



Quatre Bras, Battle of. — The 

fig'hting in this engag-ement of the 
Waterloo campaign began about 
2 P.M. on 16 June 1815. The advance- 
guard of the left wing of the French 
Army, under Reille, had pushed for- 
ward to the farm of G^mionoourt,. 
which was defended by a small force 
of Dutch and Belg^ians under the 
Prince of Orange. The latter were 




25,000 men was marching to its relief. 
The following- actions took place : 
Roncesvalles {q-v.) and Maya (q-'v.) 
on 25 July; Sauroren {q.v.) on 28th 
and 30th ; Yanzi on i Aug. ; Echallar 
and Ivantilly on 2 Aug". Soult failed 
to dislodge the Allies (British and 
Spanish), and Wellington assumed 
the offensive, g^radually driving his 
opponents back towards France. He 
then returned to the siege. The 
Allies' losses were about 7,000 during 
these battles, and the French lost 



10,000. 



driven from their position, but the 
Duke of Wellington now came on the 
field with reinforcements of British. 
The French also received reiaforce- 
ments, and the sanguinary fig^ht con- 
tinued for several hours, until at 
nigfhtfall Ney withdrew his forces to 
Frasnes. Out of about 33,000 men 
the French lost 4,300, while the 
Allies lost 4,700 out of the 22,000 
men who took part. See Waterloo 
Campaign. 

Quiberon. — The scene of the 
royalist defeat (1795); a peninsula, 



366 



RAAB 

with a small fishing village of the 
same name stretching southward from 
the coast of Morbihan. In the June 
of 1795 Piusaye, the leader of the 
Emigres in England, effected a landing 
at Quiberon with the assistance of a 
British fleet under Admiral Warren. 
General Hoche (q-v.), however, de- 
feated these troops and drove them 
back to their entrenched camp, which 
included many thousands of Chouans 
who had rallied to the royalist cause. 
Hoche then blockaded the peninsula, 
and on the night of 20 July he 
stormed the entrenchment, hundreds 
of the royalists being driven into the 
sea and drowned. 



R 



Raab, Battle of (Wag ram Cam- 
paign). — On 14 June 1809 the French 
under Eugene Beauharnais, number- 
ing about 35,000 men, attacked an 
Austrian Army under the Archduke 
John which was advancing towards 
Raab. The chief part of the fighting 
lay in the possession of the villages of 
Kismeyger and Szabadghedy, both of 
which were gained by the French, 
though the latter changed hands three 
times before it was finally held. After 
the loss of 6,000 men, half of whom 
had been made prisoners, the Arch- 
duke was forced to retreat, leaving 
Eugene strongly established in the 
village of Kismeyger. 

Raffet, Denis Auguste Marie 
(1804-60).— French artist. See Pic- 
tures^ Napoleon in. 

Rainsfbrd, Thomas. — Inspector 
of police at St. Helena. He arrested 
Las Cases. He was presented to N. 
on 24 June 1816, and died in the follow- 
ing year. 

Ramolino Family.— Ancestors of 
N. ; domiciled in Corsica since the 15th 
century ; a Gabriele Ramolino arriving 
in Corsica as a Genoese official about 
the time that Francesco Buonaparte 
left Sarzana for the same destination. 
They were adherents of Genoa, and 
for generations held appointments in 
the service of that republic. Taking 
the pedigree back three generations 
from N. leads to: Giovanni Agostino 
Ramolino, born on 25 April 1697, who 



RAPP 

married Angela Maria Peri, the 
daughter of Andrea Peri (captain of 
Corsican militia in the service of the 
Genoese Republic, a well-known 
military famUy ; and secondly Maria 
Maddalena d'Istria, of a family of 
feudal siignors, Corsicans. The son of 
the above was Giovanni Girolamo,, 
born at Ajaccio 13 April 1723, who 
married Angela Maria Pietra Santa. 
Their daughter Maria Letizia {q.v.)y 
the mother of N., was born 24 Aug. 
1750. Giovanni died at Ajaccio, 1755. 
Rapp, Jean, Comte de (1772-1821). 
— ^Was born at Ck>lmar, and entered 
the army at the age of eighteen. As 
aide-de-camp to General Desaix, he 
served with distinction in the Italian 
campaign, gallantly comforting the 
latter who' was mortally wounded on 
the field at Marengo. Rapp thus 
came under the notice of N., who 
appreciated his services. He fought in 
many campaigns both in Germany and 
in Egypt. At Austerlitz he commanded 
a division of the cavalry of the imperial 
guard, swooping down on the Russian 
squadrons and scattering them after a 
bloody conflict. Rapp reported the vic- 
tory to the Emperor, who replied that 
he had with his own eyes witnessed 
the movement which was to cover 
the young aide-de-camp with glory. 
After Wagram, where again he gained 
considerable reputation, Rapp was 
created a count. He was in one of the 
carriages following the Emperor's 
when the infernal machine exploded in 
1 80 1. He is mentioned in several in- 
stances as having rendered services of 
the most intimate character to the 
Empress and her ladies. In 1809 Rapp 
seized a would-be assassin who had 
designs upon the person of the 
Emperor, and had him arrested and 
secretly shot. On the retreat from 
Moscow in 1812, Rapp conducted him- 
self with great credit ; ghastly incidents 
were crowded into this retreat : 
through all sorts of horrors the sur- 
vivors of that broken army passed, 
mutilated soldiers and dismantled guns 
in a blinding snowstorm ; and through 
lit all Rapp lent succour to his com- 
rades. After his return from Russia 
he was sent to defend Danzig, which 
he held during a siege which lasted a 
whole year before capitulating. On his 



367 



HASTATT 

return to Paris in 1814, Louis XVIII. 
instructed him toi lead an army corps 
ag^ainst N. Rapp took command of 
the corps, but only to g^o over to the 
Emperor and place himself and his men 
at the imperial service. During- the 
Hundred Days he commanded the 
French Army of the Rhine, but being 
unable to oppose the enemy's forces 
took refuge in Stiassburg. After 
Waterloo, on his reconciliation with 
Louis XVIII., he was appointed high 
chamberlain and raised to the house of 
peers (1819). The news of N.'s death 
affected him deeply. He himself died 
at the early ag-e of forty-eight in Nov. 
1 82 1 only a few months after his im- 
perial master. 

Rastatt, Congress of.— The Con- 
g-ress of Rastatt (1797-99) was pro- 
vided for by the treaty of Campo 
Formio (17 Oct. 1797). It was de- 
signed to settle German affairs and to 
determine the compensation to be 
awarded to the German princes who 
by the treaty of Campo Formio had 
been deprived of their territories. 
Austria and Prussia desired the 
secularization of ecclesiastical lands in 
Germany, for this, while depriving 
Austria of the support of the spiritual 
princes, would have sufficed to in- 
demnify the secular powers. The 
French Directory likewise favoured 
this plan. But Bonaparte, who 
attended the Congress in person on 
25 Nov. 1797, influenced the French 
delegates to its opposition. Thus for 
many months the negotiations at 
Rastatt dragged on, both France and 
Austria well aware that the Congress 
was but an armistice and one in per- 
petual dang-er of dissolution. Early in 
1799 French and Austrian troops were 
in the neighbourhood, and some 
desultory fighting- was even eng-aged 
in. At last the members of the Con- 
g-ress were ordered by the Austrian 
troops to leave the town, the date 
agreed upon being 28 April. Scarcely 
had the French representatives quitted 
Rastatt when they were set upon, two 
of them being murdered (Bounier and 
Roberjot, supporters of the Directory), 
while the third, Debry, a Bonapartist, 
was sligihtly wounded. The assassins 
were never discovered. Anti-Bona- 
partists have credited N. with the in- 



R^CAMIER 

stigation of the murders, sugg-esting- 
Debry as the instrument. Others have 
asserted that Austria, her armaments 
completed, chose this means of pre- 
cip^itating war. These and other 
theories advanced are, however, one 
and; all without foundation, 

Raszyn, Battle of (Wagpam Cam- 
paign). — On 19 April 1809 30,000 Aus- 
trians under the Archduke Ferdinand 
marched on Warsaw, which was then 
occupied by Prince Poniatowski. 
Although the Prince had only 12,000 
men for the defence of the dity, he 
skilfully drew up his little army at 
Raszyn and for over four hours 
gallantly resisted the enemy. But over- 
whelmed at length by numbers he was 
obliged to withdraw into the city and 
capitulate. 

Recamier, Jeanne Fran^oise 
Julie Adelaide (1777-1849). — Was 
born on 4 Dec. 1777 at Lyons, the 
family name being- Bernard. Her 
beauty attracted the notice of the 
banker, Jacques Recamier, and at the 
age of fifteen she was married to him., 
the bridegroom being forty years older 
than the bride. In Paris she at once 
commanded attention and admiration, 
and her aocomplishments and un- 
doubted love for literature drew the 
intellectuals of the day about her. 
From the beg'inning of the Consulate 
to almost the end of the July monarchy 
her salon was the centre of the literary 
and political life of the time. Added 
to this, her sympathies were royalist, 
and her husband's wealth rendered her 
a desirable friend to the needy Emigres 
returning to France, who cultivated 
her assiduously. Under their influence 
she affected to look upon N. as a par- 
venu, and together with Mme. de Stael 
criticized — for the world to hear — the 
new court and its central figures. 
Many of the disaffected and dis- 
appointed place-seekers, ostensiibly 
friends of N., also gathered around 
her, among themi Bernadotte and 
Moreau, and this, added to the fact 
that she refused to act as lady-in- 
waiting to the Empress Josephine, 
made her suspect to the government. 
Her beauty, wit, and w^ealth un- 
doubtedly made her a sufficiently 
inimical influence against N., and at 
last she was banished by his orders. 



368 



R^CAMIER 

Royalists and intellectuals at last saw 
that witty criticism of the new regime 
must cease, a lesson the former 
learned so well that soon their 
daug"hiters were marrying- into the 
newly created nohlesse. 

On her banishment from Paris Mme. 
Recamier lived at Lyons for a while ; 
she then proceeded tO' Rome and later 
on to Naples, where she lived in close 
friendship with Murat and Ms wife, 
who were then plotting- with the Bour- 
bonsi against their own brother and 
benefactor. Constant, the former lover 
of Mme. de Stael, had become a great 
personal friend of Mme. Recamier, and 
at her instigation he pleaded the 
Murats' cause at the Cong^ress of 
Vienna. 

In 1805 her husband sustained heavy 
losses, and the Bank of France refused 
to assist himi in his straits, doubtless 
as punishment for the political 
activities of hlisi wife, who stayed with 
Mme. de Stael at Coppet for a con- 
siderable period. An ardent admirer 
now came into her life, the Prince 
Augustus of Russia, andl her husband 
was willing that a divorce should take 
place in order that she might marry 
him, but the project was not carried 
throughi. In 181 4 she retired to the 
Abbaye-aux-Bois, an old coinvent in 
Paris, and here her visitors were as 
numerous and famous as ever, though 
iin later days her means were still 
further diminished. Neither ill- 
health, age, nor worry seemed to im- 
pair her beauty or power of attraction. 
Her somewhat cold temperament had 
served toi protect her from scandal, but 
it also rendered her incapable of any 
serious attachment, though as far as 
possible Chateaubriand and one other 
may be said to have been the ex- 
ceptions. She had counted many 
famous men among" her admirers, 
Lucien Bonaparte, Montmorency, 
Prince Augustus of Russia, Ampere, 
and Constant, but none gained any 
influence over her to the extent 
Chateaubriand did, thoug-h she suffered 
intensely beneath his carping temper. 
Yet he was constantly beside her in 
the later years, and in a sense was the 
master of her house. The nearest 
approach to affection on her part, 
however, was for Prosper de Barante, 



REICHENBACH 

whom she had met at Coppet. She 
lived to the age of seventy-two, and 
died at Paris 11 May 1849. 

Regnault, Michel Louis itienne, 
de Saint Jean d'Angely (1761-1819).— 
Elected to the Constituent Assembly, 
he sat in the Left Centre and voted as 
a moderate reformer. Several of his 
articles appeared in the Journal de 
Paris, a paper founded by Andre 
Chenier, and in the Ami des Patriotes, 
a journal which was subsidized by the 
Government. He was imprisoned dur- 
ing the Revolution, and' on being re- 
leased was appointed administrator of 
the army hospitals in Italy in 1796. 
While there he established a friend- 
ship with Bonaparte, who found in him^ 
"an excellent comrade, obliging almost 
to a fault." Regnault accompanied N. 
on his expedition toi Egypt, but through 
sudden illness was forcedi tO' return to 
Malta. During the next seven years 
he was promoted step by step to the 
council of state, the Institute, secre- 
tary of state, and was finally created 
a count. He was at this time the close 
personal friend of N., who cherished 
great regard for him. Having accom- 
panied the Empress Marie Louise to 
Blods in 181 5, he was elected to the 
chamber of deputies, and during the 
Hundred Days resumed his office as 
secretary to N. He was afterwards 
proiscribed, but made good his escape 
to the United States through the 
generosity of Fouch^, who obtained 
passports for him. He soon returned, 
however, toi Lifege, and in 18 19 re- 
ceived permission to settle at Paris, 
where unhappily he died the same 
evening as he arrived. 

Reichenbach, Treaties of.— The 
failure of N.'s 1812 campaign resulted 
in the following year in treaties of 
alliance between Great Britain, Russia, 
Prussia, and Austria. The treaties 
between the three first-named countries 
were signed at Reichenbach on 14 and 
15 June, each of the contracting parties 
engaging not toi conclude a separate 
peace with France. On the 27th yet 
another treaty was signed at Reichen- 
bach, this time between Austria, 
Russia, and Prussia. Austria also 
bound herself not to make peace with- 
out the consent of the Allies, at the 
same time promising toi provide 



369 



REICHSTADT 

150,000 men for the impending' war 
withi France. 

Reichstadt, Duke of. — See 

Rome, King of. 

Reille, Honor6 Charles M. J. 

(1775~1860).— Count, French marshal; 
foug-ht in the Peninsular War and dis- 
ting-uished himself at Vittoria in 1813, 
where he was stationed on the Bilbao- 
Vittoria road. After severe fighting 
he was defeated and the French were 
forced to retire in disorder. At Water- 
loo twoi years later he commanded an 
infantry division between Valenciennes 
and Avenses, and with Soult and Foy 
attacked the Allies' centre, but, as is 
well known, he once more suffered 
defeat at the hands of his old enemy, 
Wellington. He was included in the 
amnesty by Louis XVIII., was made 
a peer in 1819, a marshal of France 
in 1847, and five years later a senator. 
Religion.— Various passages in 
N.'s memoirs and elsewhere justify one 
in concluding" that if he professed any 
religious system at all it was a cold 
and politic Deism, which merely re- 
commended itself to him because of 
the; necessity for the state of some 
religfious foundation. "The state," he 
said once, addressing certain priests 
in Italy, "cannot exist without re- 
ligion, lacking which it is as a ship 
without ballast." There are signs that 
in early life N. was faithful to the re- 
ligious influences of his boyhood. 
While living in Auxonne, he was pre- 
pared for confirmation at Brienne by a 
confessor, to whom when First Consul 
he wrote, "without religion there is no 
happiness, no future possible : I com- 
mend myself to your prayers." In 
Corsica, however, he was mobbed as 
the enemy of the church, and there can 
be little doubt that the free-thinking 
spirit of the Revolution caught hold 
upon him. He declares that all re- 
ligions are the children of mankind ; 
that Christianity is merely a bulwark 
to shield the rich from being mas- 
sacred by the poor; and indeed he 
seems to have subscribed to the "ad- 
vanced " paganism of his time. But 
when First Consul we find him making 
overtures to the Papacy. He clearly 
saw that if he were to advance himself 
to the imperial power, it would be 
necessary for him to placate Rome, 



RELIGION 

and he was well aware of the value of 
religious influence in propping up a 
throne. Shortly after his inauguration 
as First Consul, therefore, stories were 
put into circulation concerning his 
early piety — a piety which it was hinted 
was frequently fanned into flame by 
the sound of the village chimes at 
Malmaison. N. was also shrewd 
enough to observe that the French 
public as a whole, tired of the blas- 
phemies of the Revolution, were return- 
ing toi the papal fold. In this matter he 
swami with the tide. In July 1801 the 
treaty, known as the Concordat, was 
concluded, and the First Consul con- 
ceded that the Pope should be officially 
recognized by the state as head of the 
church. The appointments of arch- 
bishops and bishops made by the 
government were not to be valid until 
confirmed at Rome. In return the 
Pope was to end the conflict of state 
and church in France, arouse the re- 
publican spirit in French Catholicism, 
accept a subsidy of fifty millions of 
francs as against the loss of the con- 
fiscated ecclesiastical estates, and to 
recognize the status of the clergy as 
civil officials in the pay of the state. 
This naturally cast down one of the 
strongest props of the Bourbon party, 
who had hoped much from Rome. The 
Pope and N. both recognized that 
unless strong and immediate measures 
were consolidated the free-thinking 
party would have plunged France into 
a condition of religious anarchy. The 
bourgeoisie of France was catholic in 
sentiments, but lived in fear of the 
jibes of the free-thinkers and philoso- 
phers, who abounded on all sides. N. 
threw his weight on the side of Rome, 
mainly because of the political advan- 
tages he saw in such an alliance. 

Reverting to N.'s personal views 
upon religion, it is noteworthy that as 
a youth he cherished the dream of 
founding a new religion like another 
Mahomet, which he intended to use to 
overthrow Europe. He said : " I 
created a religion. I saw myself on 
the road to Asia, mounted on an ele- 
phant, with a turban on my head, and 
in my hand a new Koran, which I com- 
posed to suit myself." Paris was 
to be the Mecca of this faith. But 
these dreams speedily vanished. "I 



370 



RfgMUSAT 

come too late ; there is no longer any- 
thing- great to accomplish. I admit 
that my career is brilliant, and that I 
have made my way successfully. But 
what a difference from> the conquerors 
of antiquity ! Take Alexander ! After 
having conquered Asia, and pro- 
claimed himself to the people as the 
son of Jupiter, with the exception of 
Olympias, who^ knew what all this 
meant, and Aristotle, and a few 
Athenian pedants, the entire Orient 
believed him. Very well ; should I 
noiw declare that I was the son of God 
Almighty, and proclaim' that I am 
going to worship Him under this title, 
there is not an old beldame that would 
not hoot at me as I walked' along the 
streets. People nowadays know too 
much. Nothing is left to do." 

M^neval notes his crossing himself 
involuntarily on the occasion of some 
great danger, or the discovery of some 
important fact. Indeed he was a man 
in whom superstition wrestled strongly 
with a desire to regard religion from 
an ultra-modern and somewhat self- 
centred view-point. 

R^musat, Augustine Laurent 
de (1762-1823).— Belonged to a good 
family of Toulouse, and prior to 1789 
was avo cat- general at the Cour des 
Comptes, also to the aides of Pro^ 
vence. When the sovereign courts 
were swept away he was sent as 
delegate to Paris by the Cour des 
Comptes to watch over their interests. 
He remained in the capital through- 
out the troublous times of the Revolu- 
tion, and, being unknown, was safer 
there than in Aix, where doubtless he 
would have fallen a victim. In 1796 
he married Claire de Vergennes, the 
Mme. de Rdmusat {q.v.) of the well- 
known Memoirs and Correspondence . 

The Remusats were reduced by 
events to poverty and obscurity, but by 
an appeal to Josephine, Augustine de 
R^musat gained place and favour with 
N. In 1802 he became prefect, and 
his wife lady of the palace. Later he 
was appointed chamberlain and super- 
intendent of plays. Both he and his 
wife being close friends of the in- 
triguing and faithless Talleyrand, it 
was but natural that R6musat should 
also be suspected by N., who, how- 
ever, with his usual kindness of heart. 



R^MUSAT 

never caused the culprits to suffer as 
undoubtedly they deserved. Under the 
Restoration, Remusat, for "loyal" 
services, was made prefect, first of 
Haute Garonne and then of Nord. Of 
his twoi children the elder was the well- 
known Charles de Remusat, but the 
second, Albert, was afflicted with 
rickets and was an imbecile. 

Remusat, Claire Elisabeth 
Jeanne Gravier, Madame de (1780- 
1821). — Was born on 6 June 1780. 
Her grandfather was the Marquis de 
Vergennes, Swedish ambassador, and 
her father, who had been intendant, 
was master of requests at the time of 
the outbreak of the Revolution, also 
chef de hataillon of the national guard 
and member of the Commune in 1789. 
Though not enthusiasts in the revolu- 
tionary cause, the family were by no 
means enemies to the movement. 
Both father and grandfather, how- 
ever, died on the scaffold a few 
days before 9 Thermidor. Mme. de 
Remusat, still a girl, was taken, to- 
gether with her sister, to a retired 
country estate by her mother, and 
there survived the troubled period of 
the Revolution. In 1796, at the age 
of sixteen, she married Augustine 
Laurent de Remusat (q-v.). Two 
children were born of this marriage, 
the distinguished Charles Francois 
Marie de Remusat in 1797, and Albert 
Dominique de Remusat in 1801, an 
imbecUe. 

In 1802 M. de Remusat was ap- 
pointed prefect, and Mme. de Remusat 
dame du palais through the influence 
of the Empress Josephine. N., hear- 
ing through his wife of the Remusats' 
straitened circumstances, immediately 
extended his favour to both husband 
and wife, and continued to do so until 
the end of his rdign. The record of 
their services and characters is suffi- 
ciently sycophantic, for though reap- 
ing immense benefits from N.'s 
favour, neither scrupled to plot for 
and welcome the Bourbons. After 
the divorce Mme. de R6musat accom- 
panied the Empress Josephine in her 
retirement. Under the Restoration 
M. de Remusat received reward for 
his acquiescence, and both husband 
and wife transferred their easy loyalty 
to the Bourbons. 



371 



RfgMUSAT 

At court Mme. de R^musat counted 
Talleyrand among her admirers, and 
was looked upon as a woman of 
uncoimmon cultivation and intellect. 
After her death her Essai sur I'Edu^ 
cation des femmes was published, 
and was honoured by the academic 
couronne. In 1879-80 her grandson, 
Paul de Remusat, edited and pub- 
lished her Memoir es (3 vols.). 

Memoirs. — The Memoirs of Mme. 
de Rdmusat, a lady of royalist descent, 
cover the period from 1802 to 1808. 
She and her husband saw much of 
N.'s court during that time, and as 
a keen observer of men and manners 
she has bequeathed her testimony con- 
cerning it. Her husband was made 
prefect and she lady of the palace, and 
in these capacities he was of use to 
the First Consul and his wife in assist- 
ing tO' arrange the etiquette of the new 
court. The gradual evolution of the 
consular intoi the imperial court was 
quickly noted by Mme. de Remusat. 
She says: "Although Bonaparte would 
have been angry if anyone had seemed 
to doubt the sincerity of his utterances, 
which were at this period entirely re- 
publican, he introduced some novelty 
into his manner of life every day whichi 
tended to give the place of his abode 
more and more resemblance to the 
palace of a sovereign. He liked dis- 
play, provided it did not interfere 
with his own particular habits, there- 
fore he laid the way to ceremonial 
among those who surrounded him. 
He believed also that the French are 
attracted by the glitter of external 
pomp." According toi these Memoirs, 
N. was by no means kind tO' Jose- 
phine. " He became harsh, violent 
and pitiless to his wife," she writes; 
*'but at times he would lavish caresses 
upon her," Josephine's jealousy, it 
appears, affected her temper consider- 
ably, and Mme. de Remusat, as con- 
fidante to the wife of the First Consul, 
had to listen to a great deal that she 
did not particularly desire toi hear. N. 
frequently required Mme. de Remusat 
to remain to dinner toi smooth over 
matters between Josephine and him- 
self. With 1803 came a return to 
the customs of the monarchy, and 
rumours of war with Great Britain. 
The Memoirs regarding this period 



REMUSAT 

strike a note similar to those of 
Thibaudeau {q.v.), only, of course, 
the more masculine interest in politics 
is replaced by a feminine interest in 
persons. The journey of the First 
Consul toi Belgium and his opinions 
on many subjects are to be found in 
the second and third chapters, and the 
preparations for an invasion of Eng- 
land are described. Mme. de Remusat 
at this period had a great many long 
interviews with N., and this aroused 
suspicion regarding their relations. 
N.'s interest in her was, at least to 
begin with, purely an intellectual one, 
as, like few women of that time, she 
was able toi converse on political and 
allied subjects. Josephine began to 
display a certain amount of coolness 
to her, but 00 Mme. de Remusat 
protesting took her once more into 
her confidence. The Bonaparte family, 
ever ready toi disseminate scandal, had 
spread injurious reports, and Josephine 
apprised Mme. de Remusat of these. 

The winter of 1804 was remarkable 
for the balls and f^tes held at court 
and at Paris. This was also the time 
of the conspiracy of Cadoudal, an in- 
cident which is related in glowing 
colours. The death of the Due 
d'Enghien is also reported, as are the 
remarkable words of N. upon learning 
of the tragedy. The Due d'Enghien, 
said N,, was a conspirator like any 
other, and he had to be treated as 
such. The Bourbons were fated to 
be perpetually deluded. "If all these 
fools were to kill me," he continued, 
"they would not get their own way. 
They would only put angry Jacobins 
in my place. ... A kingdom is not 
got back by dating a letter froim 
London and signing it ' Louis. "... 
I have shed blood ; it was necessary 
to do' so. I may have toi shed more, 
but not out of anger — simply because 
blood-letting is one of the remedies in 
political medicine. I am the man of 
the state. I am the French Revolu- 
tion. I say it and I will uphold it." 

The accession of N. to the imperial 
throne is briefly dealt with, and the 
f^tes and ceremonies in connexion with 
the coronation are described with much 
vivacity. This endsi the first book. 

The second book begins with the 
opening of the session of the Senate 



7,72 



RENAUDIN 

and the journey of N, to Italy. The 
war with Austria, the battle of Auster- 
litz, and the state of Paris during that 
campaigfn are the next subjects which 
occupy the memoirist, who throughout 
pays a good deal of attention to the 
various personalities, great and small, 
with whom she came into contact. 
Thus Talleyrand, Cardinal Maury, 
Fouche, and Eugene de Beauharnais, 
amongst others, figure much in these 
pages. The monotony of the court at 
this time is complained of, but there 
is much insight into the real state of 
affairs, and the fictitious tranquillity of 
France at this period is expressly 
noted. Later the Emperor seems toi 
have taken a species of dislike to M. 
de R6musat, for on several occasions 
he said tO' others: "I ami very sorry, 
but Remusat will not get on. He is 
not devoted to me as I understand 
devotion." Mme. de Remusat had 
struck up a great friendship with 
Talleyrand. He was, she says, hard 
to please and of a sarcastic disposi- 
tion. " His manners, although highly 
polished, seem tO' place the person 
whom' he is addressing in a relatively 
inferior position." She speaks about 
him as having been spoiled. Mme. 
de Remusat was afraid to ask hm 
questions in case they excited his 
sarcasm'. She tells us how her efforts 
to express herself wittily before him 
used to cause large drops of perspira- 
tion to stand upon her forehead. She 
gives a most striking picture of Talley- 
rand's salon, where all sorts and condi- 
tions of men of impoirtance were to be 
met. 

The next point of importance in 
these Memoirs is the divorce of Jose- 
phine, or, rather, the projects for that 
divorce, which commenced about 1807. 
The war with Spain and the departure 
of the Emperor for that country prac- 
tically conclude the work, which is one 
of great merit, both historically and 
biographically. 

Renaudin, Madame de, nee Tas- 
cher. — Was an aunt of Josephine, 
sister of her father. She was the mis- 
tress, afterwards the third wife, of the 
Marquis de Beauharnais, who had 
made her acquaintance when holding" 
the office of Gonverneur des lies du 
Vent de VAmerique. It was Mme. 



RHINE 

Renaudin who arranged the marriage 
of Josephine to the young Vicomte 
de Beauharnais, the seoomd son of the 
marquis, her lover, whom she married 
the same year (1796) that her widowed 
niece married N. 

Rhine Confederation, The.— Was 
a confederation of Germanic states 
planned by Talleyrand and ratified at 
St. Cloud in July 1806. N. had long 
meditated this movement. His design 
was to dissolve the ancient Holy 
Roman Empire, sweep the whole terri- 
tory adjacent to the Rhine clear of 
petty states, and establish only such 
principalities as he thought proper in 
view of Gallic exigencies. This con- 
federation omitted Austria and Prussia 
and subsequently all princes who had 
leanings towards these two powers. 
A diet of the Kings of Bavaria and 
Wiirttemburg was formed, which also 
included the Dukes of Baden, Hesse- 
Darmstadt, and Berg, and this body 
carried out the reforms of the treaty. 
The confederation made an alliance 
between the French Empire and the 
Franco-German Empire, binding each 
to help the other in any continental 
war. Metternich took the initiative in 
negotiating with the princes of the 
Rhine, and successfully carried out 
N.'s views, and N. was declared 
protector of the confederation. The 
campaign that followed did much to 
redress the wrongs that the Germans 
had suffered at the hands of the 
Frenchi. Austria threw in her lot 
with her ally, and a successful in- 
vasion of France took place. As a 
return to the princes of the Rhine, 
Metternich gave them back the 
supremacy of their sovereignty. Thus 
the danger of these weaker states 
falling into the hands of Austria was 
averted, and in March 18 14 it was 
agreed that Germany should consist 
of a confederation of sovereign states. 
Later, delegates of the several states 
formed a federal diet to carry out the 
fundamental laws of the confederation. 
It also regulated trading with oither 
states, and military and other internal 
and external organizations. N. also 
gained control over their commercial 
codes and did his best to ruin England 
by excluding her goods from the con- 
tinent. He gained such influence over 



373 



RICHEPANSE 

the country that 150,000 men were 
ready to turn out at his coimmand. 
Subsequently, in the Russian cam- 
paign, nearly 147,000 of these followed 
the new Ohiarlemagne. When Metter- 
nich drew up the conditions upon the 
basis of Austria's "armed mediation," 
the dissolution of the confederation of 
the Rhine appears as the fifth condi- 
tion. The grand army was maintained 
in Germany ; reinforcements had now 
increased lit to a body of 170,000 men, 
and N. was thus able to subdue any 
rebel risings and see his new reforms 
in working order. 

Richepanse, Antoine (1770- 
1802). — French general; was born at 
Metz, entered the cavalry when quite 
young, and embraced with enthusiasm^ 
the principles of the Revolution. He 
was general of brigade at Altenklirchen, 
and served under Hoche. In Italy he 
was present at Novi, and was pro- 
moted general of division. While act- 
ing under Moreau at Engen in 1800 
his division successfully resisted the 
attack of 40,000 Austrian troiops, and 
he led the advance on Vienna. In 
1802 N. sent him to suppress the 
negro revolt in Guadeloupe, and this 
task was almost completed when 
Richepanse succumbed to yellow 
fever. His widow received the title 
of countess. Richepanse' s reputation 
for daring and skill stood very high. 

Ried, Treaty of.-This treaty was 
concluded between Austria and 
Bavaria on 8 Oct. 181 3. By its 
terms Austria guaranteed that if 
Germany were liberated Bavaria 
would be erected into an independ- 
ent kingdom, while Bavaria agreed 
to restore to Austria the cessions 
she had obtained from the latter 
country. 

Rio Seco, Battle of (Peninsular 
War). — This battle, which ended in the 
utter rout of the Spaniards, was fought 
on 14 July 1808. The opposing forces 
were about 15,000 French, under 
Bessi^res, and 26,000 Spaniards under 
Cuesta. The latter fought courage- 
ously, but owing to the faulty dTisposi- 
tions of their commander met with 
heavy losses, leaving 3,000 men and 18 
guns upon the field, besides 2,000 
prisoners, in the hands of the enemy. 
The French losses vary according to 



ROMAINVILLE 

different authorities, but were probably 
less serious. 

Rivoli, Battle of.— The Battle of 
Rivoli was fought on 14 Jan. 1797. 
The French (10,000) under Joubert 
held a strong natural position on the 
heights of Rivoli, which was attacked 
by Austrian forces (nearly 40,000 
strong) under Alvinzi, who attempted 
to surround Joubert. The regiments 
on the French left had been broken and 
put to flight, when N., with a strong 
force, arrived and restored the battle 
in that quarter. Meantime Joubert's 
right had given ground and his centre 
was attacked in front and rear at the 
same time. N. seeing the danger of 
the situation proposed a suspension of 
arms, to which Alvinzi foolishly agreed. 
This gave N. time to make fresh dis- 
positions, and a splendid victory to the 
French was the result. 

Rochefoucauld, Mme. de la.— 
Third or fourth cousin of Josephine by 
her first marriage, and appointed chief 
lady of honour. She was an ardent 
Royalist, and used her position for 
plotting, being an inveterate enemy 
and hater of N., though accepting his 
bounty. N., who knew this, found it 
difficult to dismiss her because of her 
relationship and because she had been 
useful at the Tuileries in establishing 
the court. 

Rolica, Battle of (Peninsular War). 
--On 17 Aug. 1808, in a strong posi- 
tion near Rolica, General Delaborde, 
with a division of 5,000 French, 
awaited a British and Portuguese force 
of 9,000 under Wellesley. As the 
Allies advanced, Delaborde, aware of 
the risk he ran of being outflanked on 
either side, immediately occupied 
another position, even stronger than 
the former one, in the passes behind. 
After heavy fighting this, however, was 
carried by Wellesley, and the French 
retreated, though in good order, with a 
loss of about six hundred men and 
three pieces of cannon. The British 
lost about five hundred killed and 
wounded. 

Romainville and Belleville. — 
Heights near Paris where Joseph 
Bonaparte, Mortier, and Marmont 
were defeated by the Allies 30 March 
1 81 4, the day on which Paris capitu- 
lated. 



374 



ROME 

Rome, King of (Napoleon Fran- 
cis Josepli Charles, Duke of 
Reichstadt) (1 81 1-32). — Also 

known as Napoleon II., was the son 
of the Emperor Napoleon and Marie 
Louise, Archduchess of Austria. He 
was born at the Tuileries palace, and 
was created King- of Rome, as the 
heirs of the Emperors of the Holy 
Roman Empire had been soi styled. His 
advent had been awaited with great 
impatience by both his father and the 
nation, and was made the cause of a 
national rejoicing. Within three 
years of his birth the Napoleonic 
dynasty, which had seemed to be 
doubly secure by the appearance of an 
heir, crumbled away. During the 
time in question the Emperor was in 
Russia, and lattferly engaged in almost 
constant warfare, and so had but little 
time to give to his infant son. At 
the time of the downfall of the Empire 
the child and his mother were at Blois, 
and only with difficulty did they escape 
being held as hostages by Joseph and 
Jerome Bonaparte. N. abdicated in 
favour of his son, whose title was not 
recognized, and who was removed 
with his mother to Vienna. Despite 
efforts on the part of the Bonapartists 
to carry off the little prince and restore 
him to his father during the Hundred 
Days, he remained in Austria, and 
after Waterloo he was granted the 
title of Prince of Parma with here- 
ditary rights for his descendants, but 
the powers would not permit his 
participation in the affairs of that state 
to which his mother betook herself. 
As a compensation he was awarded 
the title of Duke of Reichstadt by the 
Austrian Emperor, and estates con- 
ferred upon him. 

As a boy the Prince was placed under 
the tutelage of Count Dietrichstein, 
who found him not a little precocious 
and extremely attached to military 
affairs. There was, it is said, a true 
warlike strain in his character. Every- 
thing French was removed from his 
surroundings, but, that notwithstand- 
ing, the boy was wont to ask ques- 
tions of a most embarrassing kind 
concerning his mighty father. On one 
occasion it appears that a work deal- 
ing with N.'s career fell into his hands 
whilst he was yet quite a child, and 



ROME 

that he plied one of his tutors, Foresti, 
with questions regarding his illus- 
trious parent, asking him whether he 
was "a great criminal" as he seemed 
to have wasted so much human life. 
"It is not for us to judge him," re- 
plied the astute yet kindly tutor. 
"Continue to love him and think well 
of him." 

The Duke's instructors noted in him 
a strong indifference to all matters 
pertaining to religion, an aversion to 
regular studies and great quickness of 
repartee. On learning of the death of 
his father, whom he could not have re- 
membered, he shed many tears, as 
Collin and others relate. 

As the Duke grew older he evinced 
a strong desire to make a study of his 
father's deeds and exploits, a dislike 
for mathematics (in which his father 
so greatly excelled), a high sense of 
honour, and a lively force of imagina- 
tion. What were the Duke's own 
views regarding his position? There 
is little doubt that he was privately 
preparing himself to take up his posi- 
tion as Emperor of the French. And 
on the occasion of the expulsion of 
Charles X. he repeatedly referred to it 
in the Imperial family circle, as if to 
sound the views of those who com- 
posed it with regard to himself. It 
was, indeed, always his wish to be 
considered as a French prince. But 
he said: "I cannot be an adventurer 
to lend myself tO' the tricks of a party. 
My way must be clear in France ere I 
set foot there." In Oct. 1830 the 
French people showed a great desire 
for his recall, but Metternich could be 
trusted not to permit the news to 
reach the Duke's ears. 

The Duke's military education and 
advancement made rapid strides, but 
his health, never robust, began to 
cause his immediate circle serious 
anxiety. He indulged in exercise far 
beyond his powers, and this brought 
about catarrh and fever, and aggra- 
vated a natural weakness of the chest. 
Despite the utmost care and devotion 
he passed away at the Castle of 
Schonbrunn on 22 July 1832. 

Great difficulty must attach to any 
attempt suitably to estimate the 
character of the Duke of Reichstadt, 
His early death precludes the idea that 



375 



RONCESVALLES 

his character was finally formed ; 
yet it may be permitted us to fore- 
shadow the type of man that the 
young- Napoleon mig-ht have become 
had he survived to years of maturity. 
All observers are agreed that although 
he possessed some of the physical and 
mental characteristics of his mother 
he had inherited many of those 
which distinguished his illustrious 
father. Thus his glance, his firm 
mouth and chin, and his voice are said 
to have been N.'s. His spirit was 
fiery and ambitious, and he is 
described by a competent observer as 
"hot-headed, vehement, possessed by 
a quenchless thirst for action, and an 
extraordinary ambition." These were 
not the obsessions of the dullard 
Habsburgs. Added to this there was 
a deep vein of orig-inality in his nature. 
He was not content to be the same as 
others, to be patterned after the 
shallow and soulless creatures who 
surrounded him. "He never lost a 
chance of making a show of indepen- 
dence," says one of his biographers — 
a great tribute to one who brought up 
in a circle inimical to his dynasty and 
surrounded by near relations who 
hated it, was still sufficiently master 
of himself to love and worship an ideal 
rather than bend to the dictates of 
those who had resolved that he should 
never see the throne of France. But 
he is withal not a grand but a pitiful 
figure, this poor lad, who, like 
Shelley's Prince Athanase. 

"Had grown quite weak and grey 
before his time. 

Nor any could the restless griefs 
unravel. 

Which burned within him, wither- 
ing up his prime." 

So he flits across the page of history, 
a shadow, a ghost in the line of 
dynasty, whose pitiful story must 
excite compassion in all generous hearts 
if it failed to move those marble ones 
to whom he had the greatest right to 
look for sympathy. 

Roncesvalles (Peninsular War).— 
One of the battles of the Pyrenees 
(q.v.), which took place on 25 July 
1813. Marshal Soult, with about 
30,000 French, fell upon General 
Byng's division, which occupied the 



RUSSIA 

pass of Roncesvalles, and the latter 
was forced to retreat. 

Rousseau, Theodore. — Odd man 

at Longwood. He was deported in Oct. 
181 6, and retired to the United States, 
where he took service with Joseph. 

Roveredo, Battle of (Italian Cam- 
paign 1796).- An Austrian division, 
under Davidowich, 20,000 strong, lay 
at Roveredo, in the Austrian Tyrol — 
its object being to check the French 
advance. On 4 Sept. 1796, however, 
N. fell upon and completely defeated 
Davidowich, driving the Austrians into 
the higher ground behind, with heavy 
losses. 

Royalists, —See Chouans and Em- 
pire. 

Russia. — During the reign of 
Alexander I. Russia inaugurated a 
new foreign policy. In the past her 
energies had been concentrated on ex- 
tending her possessions in eastern 
Europe and Asia and in entering upon 
any foreign alliances she sought only 
to hastfen this end ; but gradually with 
her increase of wealth and power she 
began to look upon herself as a 
European nation of the first import- 
ance whose word should have weight 
in European aifairs. This propensity 
was evinced by Catherine when she 
sought to prevent the naval supremacy 
of England by creating the League of 
Neutrals, and by Paul, her son, when 
he instituted his peace negotiations 
with N. Alexander advanced this 
claim still more emphatically, and in 
the Convention he concluded with the 
First Consul in Oct. 1801 it was 
arranged that an equal balance be- 
tween Austria and Prussia should be 
preserved and accepted as an unalter- 
able principle in the designs of both 
parties ; that the integrity of the king- 
dom formed by the two Sicilies should 
be respected ; that the Duke of 
Wiirttemburg should receive in Ger- 
many proportionate compensation for 
his losses ; that the dominions of 
Bavaria should be preserved intact, 
and that rights and liberties of the 
Ionian Islands should not be trans- 
gressed. Having secured these con- 
cessions the Tsar felt confident he must 
be consulted, and that his opinion 
would hold weight ; in fact, he enter- 
tained the hope that the affairs of 



37^ 



RUSSIAN 

Europe mig-ht be conducted and 
arranged by himself and his new ally. 
The realization, however, that the 
designs and policy of France and 
Russia were utterly at variance soon 
shattered this illusion, and beg-an the 
ever-widening- breach between the two 
countries. Before the end of 1803 the 
behaviour of N. in Italy and Germany 
made it very clear to Alexander that 
he must resist him in order to prevent 
the absolute subjection of Europe. In 
1804 war became inevitable, and in the 
following; year was begun. After the 
Russian defeat at the battles of Auster- 
litz (1805) and Friedland (1807), 
Alexander and N. met, and agreed 
upon a peace. Reg^ardless of other 
states they proposed and agreed to 
divide the world between them, but no 
great success attended this arrange- 
ment, for N., incapable of countenanc- 
ing- an equal, had entered it with the 
intention of using his confederate as a 
tool to further his own plans. Russia 
soon suspected this, and her sus- 
picions were justified by N.'s attempted 
domination of the continent. In 181 2, 
with the advance of the grande armee 
on Moscow, the inevitable and conclu- 
sive struggle beg-an, and during- the 
three years it continued Russia was 
largely responsible for the Allies 
standing firm and for the final defeat 
of N. 

Russian Campaign (1812). — 
Through the slaughter of men at 
Aspern and Wagram, war had become 
unpopular with the French people, so 
N. resolved to make his allies bear the 
brunt of the campaign on which he 
was about to embark, not only in find- 
ing money, but men as well. Thus, of 
the host of 360,000 which composed 
his army, nearly two-thirds were 
Germans, Austrians, Italians, or 
Poles. These troops were, of course, 
without the impetus or inspiration of 
patriotism, and in this they contrasted 
badly with the Russians, who, upon 
the invasion of Muscovite territory, 
were determined to offer a desperate 
resistance. 

The Napoleonic army was gathered 
along the line of the river Niemen by 
the middle of June. Its right was 
composed of 34,000 Austrians : three 
corps were centred around Warsaw, 



RUSSIAN 

under the command of Jerome. On 
the left at Tilsit were the Prussians 
and other German corps, 40,000 
strong; while N., himself, occupied 
the centre with 220,000 men. The 
supply service had been carefully pre- 
pared, and 100,000 men had been 
assembled to act as reinforcements. 
On 24 June the French Army crossed 
the Niemen, suffering greatly from the 
heat. The centre, with the Emperor, 
moved towards Vilna, covered by 
Murat and the cavalry, whilst Jerome 
advanced against Prince Bagration ; 
but the health of the troops was 
affected almost from the first : fatal 
cases of sunstroke were numerous, and 
there were many desertions. The 
horses, too, suffered greatly from the 
green crops which were supplied to 
them as forage. Jerome reached 
Grodno on 5 July, but he was irreso- 
lute, and despite the Emperor s explicit 
orders, lost much time. The Russians, 
under Barclay de Tolly, entrenched 
themelves at Drissa on the Dwina, 
whilst Bagration retired towards 
Mohilev. Davout superseded Jerome, 
and the advance was resumed. The 
object was to surround and overpower 
Barclay, leaving Davout to deal with 
Bagration. The French cavalry found 
itself unequal to the task of rounding 
up the Cossacks, who swarmed every- 
where and harassed them constantly, 
but the Russians were forced to retire 
by sheer weight of numbers, and Bar- 
clay fell back on Vitebsk. Arrange- 
ments had been made for a conflict on 
a large scale ; Murat's cavalry had 
been thrown well in front with an ad- 
vanced guard of sufficient numbers to 
hold the enemy in conflict until the 
main body came up ; but the Russians 
were in no mind to oblige the Emperor 
in this respect, or to be drawn into 
fighting a full-dress battle. They 
steadily withdrew whenever they got 
into touch with the French, whose 
troops were meanwhile breaking away 
in large numbers. After five weeks, 
during which he had only marched two 
hundred miles, N. had lost a third of 
his troops, which before the final 
setting out had numbered 420,000 
men ; moreover, the morale of his 
army was in bad case. The Russians 
had received no check, and their men 



377 



RUSSIAN 

had steadily improved. Bagration and 
Barclay were about tO' effect a junc- 
tion near Smolensk, and on learning 
this N. resumed his advance in the 
direction of that place. The Russians 
in turn advanced to meet him with 
130,000 men, but their inefficient staff 
work saved them from the disaster 
they certainly would have incurred had 
they come up with the Napoleonic 
army ; for they marched in two 
columns, which lost touch with one 
another, and as neither could engage 
the French singly, both retired upon 
Smolensk, where they reunited with 
the Dnieper between them and their 



RUSSIAN 

four days to concentrate the entire 
army and arrange it in battle array. 
All the men that N. could muster were 
128,000 to the Russian 110,000. 
When the battle began at six in the 
morning of 5 Sept., the Emperor was 
suffering from an attack of illness 
such as hampered him at Waterloo. 
He directed operations until nearly 
noon, when he seems to have 
allowed the corps commanders to do 
pretty much as they liked. The battle 
was an indecisive one, although 
38,000 Russians were killed and only 
25,000 French. The Russians had 
been strongly entrenched, but their 




enemies. On the morning of 16 Aug. 
the town was attacked by Ney and 
Murat. A movement was made 
against the Russian left and rear; but 
ere it could be complete the Mus- 
covites had retreated under cover of 
darkness. Their policy now was to 
wear down the French Army, and in 
this way they were succeeding beyond 
expectations when Kutusov was dis- 
patched to assume the chief command. 
Indifferent to, or impatient of the 
hitherto successful tactics of his 
colleagues, he resolved to engage the 
French in a great battle, and with this 
object in view he drew his army up at 
Borodino, about seventy miles from 
Moscow. Murat and Ney quickly 
came up with him, but the French 
marching had been sO' poor that it took 



first line of redoubts was carried and 
held by the French until the close of 
the day ; but in the end the French 
had to retire, leaving the Russians in 
possession of the field. Later, Kutusov 
retreated, and Murat, with the ex- 
hausted cavalry, made an effort to 
follow. On the 14th the horsemen 
came up with the Russians while in 
the act of evacuating Moscow, and 
agreed with them to observe a seven 
hours' armistice to permit them to 
clear the town, which they were afraid 
might be set on fire. The main body, 
under N., began to enter Moscow as 
night was falling. N. passed the 
night in a private house, and next 
morning rode to the Kremlin ; but fire 
had already broken out among the 
wooden houses, and the conflagration, 



378 



RUSSIAN 

after raging- two days, became so 
serious that the French had to betake 
themselves to the country once more. 
Kutusov was not far away, and was in 
communication with a fertile hinter- 
land. Wittg-enstein had collected 
40,000 Russians, and was advancing 
against St. Cyr, who had relieved 
Macdonald, but who had only 17,000 
men left to him. The peace with 
Turkey had relieved Tschitschagov's 
army, which was marching to effect a 
junction with Tormassov in the neigh- 
bourhood of Brest-Litewski, and their 
combined forces would number some- 
thing over 100,000 men. To oppose 



RUSSIAN 

upon St. Petersburg. Murat received 
a severe mauling at Tarutino on 
18 Oct., and regarding this as a 
challenge, the French Army moved 
out to meet the Russian under 
Dokhturoff at Malo-Jaroslavitz. No 
decisive fighting followed until Eugene 
arrived along with the guards and 
Davout's corps. Later the Russian 
main army also came up, and finally 
Kutusov made his appearance. The 
struggle lasted until 11 p.m., and 
eventually the French succeeded in 
driving off the Russians, but Kutusov 
had attained his end and had barred 
the road tO' Kaluga as he had intended. 




Malojai-oslavetz 
OKaluga 



NAPOLEON'S RETREAT 

from Moscow. 

1812. 

English.Miles. 
50 .100 150 200 230 



these there was only Schwartzenberg, 
with about 30,000 troops. 

The French Army by this time had 
become greatly dispersed; indeed, 
some of its forces were almost six 
hundred miles distant from one 
another. At Moscow there were 
about 100,000 men, 30,000 in the 
neighbourhood of Brest, 17,000 near 
Drissa, 30,000 at Smolensk. All of 
these were confrO'Uted, with the excep- 
tion of the Moscow army, by greatly 
superior forces. Matters were look- 
ing decidedly gloomy, and on 4 Oct. 
N. dispatched Lauriston to the 
Russian headquarters with orders to 
treat for peace. In the meanwhile 
Murat was ordered to keep Kutusov 
employed' — N. intending toi join up 
with) Victor and St. Cyr and advance 



N. had thus either toi force his way 
through the Russian ranks or to 
retreat through an exhausted and 
desert country. A retreat upon 
Smolensk via Mojaisk was then 
decided upon, and Kutusov, either 
thinking that the French intended an 
offensive against Kaluga, or with the 
express object of luring the French 
Army to self-destruction, gave orders 
to retreat. 

At daybreak on 26 Oct. 181 2 the 
celebrated retreat froimi Moscow com- 
menced. It has frequently been 
stated that the rigorous climatic con- 
ditions which they had to face were 
the chief reason for the disorganiza- 
tion of the French Army ; but the more 
probable origin of the disaster was lack 
of discipline. No frost had been experi- 



579 



RUSSIAN 

enced until late In October, and the 
weather, if cold, was dry and bracing". 
When the Beresina, a slow-running- 
river, was reached on 26 Nov. it was 
not even frozen over, and the pioneers 
were able toi work standing- in the 
water all throughi the day. The truth 
is that the French Army was now 
composed of panic-stricken fugitives : 
its chiefs had entirely lost their heads, 
or were ignored by the rank and file. 
At the beginning of November bodies 
of Cossacks began to threaten the re- 
treating French, soi that the command 
was g-iven to march in a hollow square 
in order that impending attacks might 
be the better beaten off. Kutusov 
was hanging on the flank of the army, 
hurling squadrons of Cossacks at it 
and picking up stragglers. The 
grande armee was by now a helpless 
wreck, scarcely 50,000 strong". Reach- 
ing- Smolensk on 9 Nov., it halted 
there till the 14th. On resuming the 
march, the Emperor kept in front with 
the guard, while Ney brought up the 
rear. Once more the Russians barred 
the way near Krasnoi, where on the 
i6thi they tried to head off the remains 
of the French Army. N. halted to let 
the ranks close up, and then attacked 
vigorously. He succeeded in clearing 
a way for himself, but Ney and the 
rear-guard seemed trapped. By a 
brilliant night march, however, they 
effected a breach through the Russian 
ranks at the cost of 5,200 men out of 
6,000, From Orcha N. dispatched 
orders to Victor to join himi at Boris- 
sov on the Beresina. A thaw/ had set 
ini, and fromi marching on a frozen 
surface the French now found them,- 
selves floundering in mud. Hearing 
that Borissov was in the hands of the 
Russians, the Emperor gave orders to 
cross the Beresina at Viesselovo. 
Oudinot was sent thither toi construct 
bridges for the passage of the army, 
and encountering the Russian advance- 
gfuard near Borissov, he drove them 
back. The Russians, confused, g"ave 
time for Victor to^ come up, while 
Oudinot constructed the necessary 
bridges at Studienka, which he found 
more suitable as a passage than Vies- 
selovo; but the road to Studienka had 
been left open, and Wittgenstein was 
traversing" it in pursuit as quickly as 



RUSSIAN 

man and horse could go. The passag-e 
of the Beresina was begun on the 
afternoon of 26 Nov. , but the Russians 
were closing in. The crossings con- 
tinued throughout the night. Ney, 
with magnificent self-sacrifice, held off 
the pursuing Muscovites until all had 
passed over, in which task he was 
assisted by Oudinot and Victor. By 
midday on the 28th the last effective 
Frenchman had croissed the Beresina, 
and only a few thousand stra,gglers 
remained beyond the river. Subse- 
quent to this the retreat of the French 
Army became a headlong- flight, and 
at Smorgoni the Emperor, who not 
only saw that he could do little for the 
disorganized rabble by which he was 
surrounded, but also had recently 
received news of the Malet Conspiracy 
(g.'i;.), handed over the command to 
Murat and left for Paris on 5 Dec. to 
assemble a fresh army for the follow- 
ing year. Travelling post-haste, he 
reached his capital on the i8th. 

Rigorous climatic conditions now set 
in, and the sufferings of the troops 
were indescribable. Harassed by the 
constant attacks of the Cossacks, frost- 
bitten and starving, with only rags 
to keep out the intense cold of a 
Russian winter, the wretched French- 
men died by hundreds. All bag-gage 
was abandoned and seized by the 
enemy. At Vilna the houses were 
filled with French sick and wounded 
and the courtyards with the dead. The 
Russian pursuit was incessant. Disci- 
pline vanished entirely, and Murat, 
who was dashing enough as a cavalry 
leader, was perhaps the last man to 
place in charge of a disastrous retreat. 
From time to time the semblance of 
a stand was made, but it was only 
momentary. The entire country over- 
run by the French had now been re- 
gained by the Russians, and their pur- 
suit of their enemies ended only with 
the Niemen, which at that time formed 
the western boundary of the Russian 
empire. The grande arm^e was no 
more. Only about 1,000 men of the 
guards hung- together ; the remainder 
were ragged and unarmed, roaming 
the country in small bands. The wings 
under Schwartzenberg and Macdonald, 
the Poles, and a few others still 
showed some semblance of discipline, 



380 



SAALFELD 

but half a million men had perished 
or were prisoners, over 150,000 horses 
had been lost, and about 1,000 guns. 
A quarter of a millioin men had found 
graves in Russia, and the Russians 
estimated their own losses at about 
200,000. Alexander resolved to pro- 
ceed from defence to attack, and on 
13 Jan. 1813 his main army crossed 
the Niemen. 

The Russian campaign may be said 
to have been the first act in the drama 
of N.'s downfall. Neither the northern 
snows nor the absence of discipline in 
his army, but his own strategic blunder 
was the final cause of N.'s overthrow 
on the plains of Muscovy. He had 
planned to do in a year what required 
at Last double that time. Many 
writers have considered the cardinal 
error of the whole campaign toi have 
been that he continued his march past 
Smolensk to Moscow ; but the supreme 
folly of attempting to reach the capital 
with only 100,000 troops in hand, after 
having transported by forced marches 
half a million of men into the very 
heart of Russia, was the true cause 
of his failure. N.'s strategy, like his 
policy, was beginning toi degenerate ; 
and, strang'e as it may seemi, as his 
genius was on the wane his schemes 
and inspirations grew not only greater 
but more shadowy. 



Saalfeld, Battle of (Jena Cam- 
paign). — On ID Oct. 1806, with a 
small force of Prussians, Prince 
Louis Ferdinand at Saalfeld en- 
deavoured to protect Hohenlohe's 
flank march on Jena. The Prus- 
sians were, however, completely 
outnumbered by the French under 
Lannes, and suffered defeat, while 
their brave leader, already wounded, 
when called upon to surrender replied 
by a cut with his sabre, and was killed 
by his adversary. The Prussians lost 
800 killed and wounded, thirty guns, 
and 1,200 prisoners, 

Sabugal, Battle of (Peninsular 
War).— On 3 April 181 1 the French 
Second Corps under Regnier met with 
defeat at Wellington's hands near 
Sabugal. Their killed and wounded 



ST. DOMINGO 

numbered over 1,000, while the 
British losses were only about 200. 
After this check the French Army 
was withdrawn into Spain. 

Sacile, Battle of.— On 16 April 
1809 48,000 Austrians under the 
Archduke John encountered a Franco^ 
Italian army under Eugene Beauhar- 
nais. A severe defeat was inflicted 
on the latter, and Beauharnais had 
to retire. The losses of the French 
and Italians were 4,000 killed and 
wounded and as many prisoners, while 
the Austriians did not lose half that 
number. 

Sagunto, The Siege of (Peninsu- 
lar War).— After the fall of Tarragona, 
Suchet in Sept. 181 1 laid siege to the 
rock-fortress of Sagunto. It was well 
defended by a Spanish garrison under 
General Andriani, who beat off two 
assaults. Blake endeavoured to relieve 
the city, but on 25 Oct, he was de- 
feated by the French with a loss of 
1,000 killed and wounded, besides 
2,500 prisoners; and' that night the 
garrison surrendered. 

St. Cyr, General.— 5ee Gouvion 
St. Cyr, 

St. Denis, Louis Etienne (1788- 
1856).— Second valet at Longwood 
and garde des livres. He remained 
at LxDngwood throughout N.'s cap- 
tivity, and returned in 1840 for the 
exhumation. 

St. Domingo Expedition, The 
(1801 - 03). — As objects of envy in 
colonial enterprise or as a cause of war, 
the West Indian Islands as known at 
the present day do not seem toi present 
any sufficient attraction. Yet though for 
long SO' impoverished and depressed, 
they represented in the eighteenth and 
early nineteenth centuries the richest 
and most desirable colonies in the 
world, for the United States, scarce 
numbering five million souls, offered 
no alluring revenues, Australia was 
practically a terra incognita, and 
South Africa was still wrapped in 
mystery. But the West Indies were 
a mine of wealth; slaves, sugar, and 
coffee yielded princely returns, for as 
yet noi sentiment or ideals had banned 
the trade in human flesh and the pos- 
sibilities of beetroot and oliicory were 
undiscovered. France, Spain, Great 
Britain — all three had snatched at 



381 



ST. DOMINGO 

these desirable possessions and fought 
each other fiercely in the process. At 
the period under consideration each of 
these powers held some portion of the 
islands for its own, France holding 
St. Domingo, the eastern portion of 
the island of Hayti. First held by 
the Spaniard's, it had been seized by 
French buccaneers in 1630, while in 
1677 the French Government had 
taken over the whole colony. 

Before the Revolution the trade of 
this colony is said to have constituted 
the greater portion of the French over- 
seas commerce, but the headlong re- 
forms of the disciples of Rousseau not 
only shattered the prosperity of the 
place but entailed the death of the 
majority of the French colonists. 
The National Assembly had hastened 
to preach the gospel of "Liberty, 
Equality, Fraternity " to the West 
Indies, and on 15 April 1791 pro- 
claimed the equality of whites and 
blacks. This the planters refused to 
recognize as binding ; the negroes rose 
in revolt, and a massacre of the white 
population ensued. In the October of 
that year the remaining colonists sent a 
despairing appeal for help, describing 
the appalling condition of affairs in 
the island. This plea was supported 
by rep'resentations from the towns of 
Nantes, St. Malo, and other places 
which were dependent upon their 
colonial trade ; but the Assembly re- 
fused to interfere, and further ratified 
the decree of equality. Soon the 
slaves had overrun the whole French 
portion of the island, Port de la Paix 
and one or two other settlements alone 
excepted. At this juncture Toussaint 
rOuverture (q-v.) came into promin- 
ence, and out of the gory chaos pro- 
duced something approaching order, 
and the French Directory, recogniziing 
his power and wishing to attach him 
to their interests, named him. com- 
mander-in-chief of the armies of St. 
Domingo, in which capacity he ren- 
dered material assistance in repulsing 
an English attempt on the island. The 
Revolution and its gospel of liberty 
bad wakened in I'Ouverture the dream 
of complete emancipation of the slaves, 
with finally the island for their own 
kingdom. Therefore his friendship 
with the French was merely a tem- 



8T. DOMINGO 

porizing policy whilst his other plans 
were developing. He armed and 
trained a large army of negroes 
(20,000), and in 1799 was strong 
enough to expel the French governor 
and to occupy the Spanish portion of 
the island. In May 1801 he drew up a 
constitution and proclaimed himself 
governor of St. Domingo for life, with 
power to nominate his successor. It 
was at this time N. decided on the ex- 
pedition to St. Domingo, and when the 
truce with Great Britain, preceding the 
peace of Amiens, reopened the seas to 
the French fleet he determined to bring 
I'Ouverture to order and restore 
French authority in the colony. The 
course N. pursued towards Toussaint 
I'Ouverture has been the cause of 
much adverse criticism, but there is 
something to be said for the possibility 
that the man and his deeds had been 
misrepresented to N. Of course, to 
him the French piossession of the 
colony stood for infinitely more than 
I'Ouverture 's ambitions or ideals, and 
though the negro "Bonaparte" was 
willing to agree to French protection, 
this was not a sufficient guarantee, nor 
was it profitable to France. 

As First Consul N., by a proclama- 
tion of 8 Nov. 1801, promised the 
inhabitants of St. Domingo, without 
distinction of colour, liberty and 
equality of rights, but this he had 
forestalled by a secret decree of 25 
Dec. 1800, when he had sent out 
three commissioners to re-establish 
slavery, though it was called by a 
different name. Towards the end of 
the year 1801 the expedition, in charge 
of General Leclerc (q.v.), and with 
Villaret-Joyeuse (q.v.) in command 
of the fleet, started from. Brest for 
the Canaries, where it was joined by 
other squadrons from Lorient, Roche- 
fort, and Toulon, numbering in all 
thirty-two ships of the line and thirty- 
two frigates, having more than 20,000 
troops on board. The strength of the 
force brought forth strong remon- 
strances and warnings from the British 
Grovernment, while the news of it 
made Toussaint adopt precautionary 
measures. Leclerc, charged with com- 
plimentary messages to the negro 
chief, was to compel him by various 
means to acknowledge the sovereignty 



382 



ST. DOMINGO 

of France and the reoog-nition of him- 
self (Leclerc) as captain-general of the 
island. But Toussaint was already on 
his guard. Before their arrival he had 
told his followers of the desig"ns of the 
French to enslave them again, and by 
this means secured the unity of his 
forces. The coast settlements were 
ravaged and their inhabitants 
butchered. On the disembarkation of 
the French troops Toussaint retreated 
into the interior, comfidently awaiting- 
the effects of climate and the diffi- 
culties of the country on the forces of 
the enemy. With 15,000 troops 
Leclerc pursued him, the French so 
enraged by the sig^ht of the desolated 
towns and the mutilated bodies of the 
whites that they carried all before 
them. They besieged Cr€te-d-Pierrot, 
Toussaint's g^reatest strong^hold, and 
on 8 May 1802 he surrendered, making 
the condition that his own and his 
officers' rank should be respected. The 
French then proceeded on their mission 
of subjugating the whole island before 
the unhealthy season should set in, a 
season which Toussaint awaited with 
impatience, for his surrender had 
simply been made to secure a truce. 
His plan was toi wait till the French 
were so reduced by yellow fever and 
fatigue that they would become an 
easy prey. This state of affairs was 
not long in arriving. The medical 
staff, in their ignorance of the disease, 
failed to stem the epidemic, despite 
heroic efforts, beside which the medical 
stores sent from France were damaged 
and useless. By the middle of August 
the number of deaths amounted to 
18,000, as given in the report of 
Decr^s (Nov. 1802). Leclerc, who sus- 
pected Toussaint's plot, caused him to 
be seized, having N.'s orders toi doi so 
iif necessary, and sent him^ to France, 
where he died. 

In the autumn the negro troops, 
though in the pay of the French since 
the surrender, followed out Toussaint's 
plan, deserting en masse (13 Sept. 
1802). The menace was more deadly 
than before, for only 500 French 
soldiers were left to face between 
10,000 and 12,000 insurgents animated 
by fear of slavery and deadly hatred 
of their would-be oppressors. Yet 
despite the fearful odds French 



ST. HELENA 

courage and discipline won the day. 
For this insurrection Leclerc has often 
been blamed, but according to Dr. 
Holland Rose the following is a true 
statement of the case : "In the notes 
dictated! at St. Helena, Napoleo^n sub- 
mitted Leclerc' s memory to some 
strictures for his indiscretion in regard 
toi thiC proposed restoration of slavery. 
The official letters of that officer 
expose the injustice of the charge. 
The facts are these. After the seem- 
ing submission of St. Domingo, the 
First Consul caused a decree to be 
secretly passed at Paris (20 May 1802) 
which prepared to re-establish slavery ; 
but Decr^s warned Leclerc that it was 
not for the present to be applied to 
St. Domingo unless it seemed toi be 
opportune. Knowing how fatal any 
such proclamation woiuld be, Leclerc 
suppressed the decree ; but General 
Richepanse, who was now governor 
of Guadeloupe, not only issued the 
decree, but proceeded toi enforce it 
with rigour. It was this which caused 
the last and most desperate revolts 
of the blacks, fatal alike to French 
domination and to Leclerc's life." On 
22 Oct. Leclerc fell a victim, to yellow 
fever, and under the burden of anxiety 
and almost despair succumbed on 
2 Nov. 1802. His successor, Rocham- 
beau, fared no' better, for though re- 
ceiving strong reinforcements of troops 
fromi France and following a rigorous 
policy, to use no harsher term, the 
rebels, led by the infamous Dessalines 
{q.v.) and his lieutenant Christophe 
[q-v.], held their ground. The renewal 
of war between England and France 
was the final blow to thiC expedition, 
for thoise that were left must surrender 
to either the English or the negroes. 
In Nov. 1803 the remnant with 
Roohambeau returned to France, the 
expedition having cost the country, 
besides financial expense, more than 
twenty generals and some 30,000 men. 
St. Helena.— The captivity of N. 
on the island of St. Helena) is without 
parallel in the history of the world. 
In the days of antiquity it would have 
been deemed impossible that a con- 
queror of his rank, who had laid the 
empires of the world under tribute, 
could have survived the ruin and 
defeat of his fortunes. Hannibal, 



383 



ST. HELENA 

pursued from court to court, had re- 
course to poison to riid himself at the 
last of his vindictive enemies, and 
but few of the heroes of the ancient 
world cared toi live tO' recount their 
reverses even had they been permitted 
to do so. But if N.'s enemies were 
no less vindictive than those of Hanni- 
bal or Pompey, they were held in 
check from administering the coup de 
grdce upon their victim by a humani- 
tarianismi which had but little of 
chivalry in its oomposition. A truly 
gfenerous, even- an ordinarily humane 
view of the position of their illustrious 
prisoner would have prompted the 
Allied Powers to a method of control 
vastly different in character from that 
which was finally agreed upon. Life 
indeed was toi be granted their splendid 
enemy. But such a life, such an exist- 
ence, as was tO' be aggravated by every 
circumstance of petty insult and 
grievous slight as hirelings of the most 
witless and tactless character could 
devise and perform. It is a wretched 
excuse toi plead on behalf of the Powers 
that they did not desire such treat- 
ment toi be meted out toi the Emperor. 
They could not have been ignorant of 
the inferior personalities, of the miser- 
able and circumscribed characters of 
thoise to whom they committed his 
charge. It is vaiin, it is futile, to state 
that such men as they surrounded him 
with were not selected as the instru- 
ments of a disgrace which was in some 
measure intended toi slake the miser- 
able thirst for revenge which animated 
the monarchs and statesmen who- em- 
ployed these wretched tools for its 
aocompHshment. 

Men are but human in their hates 
as in their affections. But it might 
have been hoped that a coiuncil com- 
posed of all that was held as being 
noble and enlightened in Europe would 
have mitigated the fate of the great 
prisoner in such a manner as to^ have 
spared him the daily indignities of a 
Lowe or a Cockburn. But, it may be 
asked, were those who sat at that 
board as liberal in sentiment and 
generosity as they were noble in birth ? 
As it chanced the thrones of the 
Europe of that day were occupied by 
men to whom, the title of "mediocrity " 
could only be applied as a compliment. 



ST. HELENA 

In Austria stupidity was balanced by 
a calculated cunning ; in France royalty 
hadl become a synonym for imbecility ; 
while in Britain the dregs of a dullard 
race were disgracing the purple with 
the lowest profligacy and licence. Such 
were the men whoi conceived them- 
selves the just judges of N. — the 
descendants of brigand barons, the 
dull-witted scions of Austrian aris- 
tocracy, the elderly roues of Orleans 
and the cock-fighting, hard-living 
gamesters of St. James's. 

But the moist intense admiration and 
partiality cannot deny that if justice 
was travestied and outraged by the 
severity of these men that a con- 
siderable degree of caution was re- 
quired to insure the future peace of 
Europe. It may be urged that perfect 
human enlightenment would have dic- 
tated the incarceration of his enemies 
and would have left the conduct of 
European affairs entirely to the genius 
of the man who had shown himself 
better fitted than any since the dawn 
of time toi lead the destinies of the 
human race. But perfect wisdom is 
rare in the counsels of men, and 
humanity had not in the days of N. 
attained toi that degree of sagacity 
which would have welcomed the leader- 
ship vouchsafedl by his supreme might 
and natural genius. The conflicting 
interests of nationality have only too 
frequently been the ruin of the truer 
advantages of humanity in general. 
Providence ensures an unfailing supply 
of genius to the race. But through 
the blindness and jealousy of the de- 
based and ignorant the boon of suffi- 
cient leadership! isi only too often for- 
feited or transmuted to a curse. The 
desire for personal exaltation may be 
with truth attributed tO' N. ; but it 
did not blind him toi the fact that the 
days in which he lived were full of 
evil for those whoi dwelt under the 
shadow of tyrannies, compared to 
which his rule was as> the day is tO' the 
night. Let the just man ask himself 
whether he would have preferred to 
live under the corrupt and cramping 
rule of a Habsburg, the material, 
coarse, and unenlightened sway of a 
George IV., the lewd vulgarity of an 
Orleans, or the liberal and illuminating 
despotism of the mighty Corsican. 



384 



ST. HELENA 

N. arrived at St. Helena on 17 Oct. 
1815, his companions being- Bertrand, 
Gourgfaud, Las Cases and Montholon. 
In 1789 N., then twenty, in taking- 
notes of the Geographie Moderne of 
Lacroix, had' copied out the name of 
St. Helena, had added the words 
"Petite isle," and had thrown down 
the book. On beholdling" his future 
prison for the first time the Emperor 
exhibited nO' sig-n of emotion and 
remained silent. Next moirningf, with 
Cockburn and Bertrand, he set off on 
horseback to inspect Longwood. 
Alterations were necessary there, so 
he took up his abode at The Briars 



Si HELENA 


^^s^"^^ 






speroui 
Bay 

\sandle 
p Pome 

■ 




T« \!.P»» Co L-. 


C i^KDO" 



about a mile and a half from James- 
town, or, rather, in a pavilion con- 
tig-uous to it. The Briars was in- 
habited by an Engflish family named 
Balcoimbe, withi whom he became on 
most friendly terms, eng^aging^ in card 
g^ames and even in horseplay with the 
young-er membersi of the family. Long"- 
wood was ready for him, and he 
entered upon his tenancy of it on 
10 Dec. 1815. The house was of the 
colonial type, spacious in the posses- 
sion of thirty rooms, but poorly built 
and infested by rats. The entrance 
hall led toi a drawing-room, which 
ag-ain opened upon a dining--roO'm, 
whence passagfes' led toi an oblong- 
court surrounded by offices, a surgery 
and domestic rooms, and on the other 
side to a small wing- where were 
situated N.'s sittingf-room, bedroom, 
and bathroom. Next this was the 
servant's hall. In the wing opposite 
to this were the kitchen and dining'- 
room for N.'s priests and medical 
attendant, and an elongation of this 



ST. HELENA 

wing contained the quarters of the 
Montholon family and orderlies' rooms. 
N. greatly disliked the officiousness 
of Cockburn. and the petty annoyances 
inflicted upon himi by that officer, and 
seemed glad when Sir Hudson Lowe 
arrived to take up office as governor. 
At first N. seemed satisfied with his 
new jailer, but when he attempted to 
convey letters of complaint toi the 
Prince Regent without Lowe's know- 
ledge, the governor began to conceive 
suspicions regarding his friendliness 
towards himself. N. pressed Lowe for 
permission to ride beyond the twelve- 
mile limit fromi Longwood. This Lowe 
might not do without express permis- 
sion from England, and he dreaded 
to request such permission. Lowe at 
last withdrew from N.'s presence after 
having listened to an outbreak of 
taunts, and from that day he never 
had an interview with his charge. 

It has been said that Lowe 'si offence 
lay not in, hlis manners, but in his 
firmness, and various observers of bis 
demeanour are quoted to prove his 
gentility. It is also affirmed that the 
Emperor whilst at St. Helena carried 
out "dirty little intrigues" to annoy 
hlis jailers. A sufficient answer to 
these charges is to be found in the 
universal obloquy with which Lowe 
was regarded upon his return to Eng- 
land after the death of N. He was 
looked/ upon as a person whoi had em- 
bittered the last years of a magnificent 
career, who had blighted the last 
leisure of the world's greatest! genius 
— almost as a paid executioner. But 
whilst turning with distaste from. 
Lowe's personality, let us not forget 
that the severities practised by him 
were in great part the outcome of the 
terror in which he held the decrees of 
his tyrant taskmasters — those liberty- 
loving men who had fettered the most 
enlightened sovereign the world ever 
knew im order that they themselves 
might the better play the part of 
oppressors whilst assuming the parts 
of popular leaders. 

Of course N.'s object was, as Las 
Cases said in a passage which he sup- 
pressed when publishing his Journal: 
"We are possessed of moral arms 
only : and in order to make the most 
advantageous use of these it was 



385 



ST. HELENA 

necessary to reducei into a system our 
demeanour, our words, our sentiments, 
even our privations, in order that we 
mig-ht thereby excite a lively interest 
in a larg-e portion of the population 
of Europe, and that the Opposition in 
England might not fail toi attack the 
ministry on the violence of their con- 
duct towards us." Thus the "politique 
de Longwood " alimed at the dis- 
crediting of Lowe. What other arms 
were left the Emperor to fight with? 
Lowe, dliscredited by the Opposition at 
Westminster, might fall into disgrace 
and N, be released. 

The British Government sought to 
limit the annual cost of the Longwood 
establishment to ;^8,ooo, but Lowe 
took it upon himself tO' increase it to 
;;^ 1 2,000. N. hearing of the need for 
economy, dismissed seven servants 
and pledged some silver-plate for 
;^25o, saying, "What is the use of 
plate when you have nothing" to eat 
off it?" O'Meara says that N.'s 
object in pledging the plate was "a 
wish to excite odium ag'ainst the 
Governor by saying that he has been 
obliged to sell his plate in order to 
provide against starvation, as he him- 
self told me was: his object." 

In Oct. 1816 more stringent regula- 
tionsi for the custody of the Emperor 
arrived from England. His sphere of 
exercise was limited from 12 toi 8 miles 
and a ring of sentries was posted near 
Longwood at sunset instead of g p.m. 
Schemes of rescue were certainly afloat 
at this time. Attempts; were probably 
made from America, but concerning 
these nothing definite can be ascer- 
tained at this length of time. It was 
probably these attempts which gave 
rise to the new and more severe 
regulations regarding N.'s sphere of 
txercise. 

But it was not exercise that the 
Emperor desired. He longed for that 
political excitement, or, rather, that 
exercise of government which was as 
the breath of his nostrils. "Je suis 
tout k fait un etre politique," he had 
once said toi Gallois. Deprived of 
statesmanship he was deprived of life. 
Take' away his canvas fro^m the artist, 
his pen from the author, his chisel 
from the sculptor, and what does he 
become — a creature of nought. So was 



ST. HELENA 

it with Napoleon Bonaparte at St. 
Helena. There are few pictures more 
pitiable than that of the demigod, 
the Prometheus who had brought the 
fire of freedom from heaven, chained 
helpless to the rock. 

N.'s one occupation was the dicta- 
tion of his memoirs. He tried to learn 
English from Las Cases, but without 
avail. That faithful servant was 
arrested on a charge of attempting* to 
convey letters to Europe and forced to 
leave the island, soi that thei dictation 
of the m,emoirs was taken down by 
Gourgaud and Montholon. Gourgaud 
was the next to leave. Passionately 
jealous of the Montholons, he had 
many a sleepless night over small 
attentions shown them. At length he 
challenged Montholon to a duel. N. 
forbade the absurdity, and "Gogo" 
craved permission to leave the island — 
permission whichi was granted. 
O'Meara too attempted to facilitate 
the passage of N.'s correspondence, 
and had to go. N. himself admitted 
that he bribed him. His successor. 
Dr. Stokoe, likewise fell, but the next 
in office. Dr. Verling, refused N.'s 
advances and resigned. 

During the first part of his captivity 
N.'s health was comparatively g^ood. 
Even soi late as 1819-20 he engaged 
much in riding, gardening, and other 
amusements, moving about under a 
broad-brimmed Panama hat, with 
spade in hand, superintending the 
little alterations executed fromi time to 
time on his domain. At times he would 
interrupt the work of hist subordinates 
to demonstrate to them various points 
in military tactics. Indoors he would 
play billiards and chess, and he took a 
delight in reading aloud, especially the 
plays of Voltaire. If any of his 
audience betrayed symptoms of somno- 
lence he would instantly charge them 
with the breach of courtesy, but it is 
difficult to imagine how any but the 
dullest intellect could have slumbered 
whilst he declaimed prose or poetry, 
enlivening and animating the whole as 
he did with passages of spontaneous 
and incisive criticism. 

The Emperor took a deep interest in 
those whoi made up his immediate 
circle. On the arrival of Antom- 
marchi, that learned anatomist with- 



386 



SALAMANCA 

stood an examinatiom on chemistry so 
badly as to be almost driven from the 
presence. 

N. was himself only toO' conscious 
that the disease to which, his father 
succumbed had now seized him in its 
fatal grasp. His medical advisers do 
not appear in the least to have compre- 
hended the nature of his malady, 
which is fully described in the article 
Autopsy. For further details of 
N.'s residence in St. Helena, see 

MONTHOLON, AnTOMMARCHI, O'MeARA, 

Balcombe, Lowe, Cockburn, and 
other articles. 

Salamanca, Battle of (Peninsu- 
lar War 1812).— About 19 July 1812 
Marmont with his army (42,000 men 
and 70 guns) made an attempt to 
prevent the Allies (46,000 British and 
Spanish, with 60 guns) under Wel- 
lington from retreating into Portugal. 
The morning of the 22nd found the 
two armies facing each other, though 
the famous battle did not begin until 
two o'clock in the afternoon, when the 
Allies vigorously attacked the French 
left, which was some distance from 
their centre. It was during the defeat 
of this wing by the British that Mar- 
mont, who was hiastening in person 
to remedy the situation, was severely 
wounded, and the command fell to 
Bonnet, but, as he also was wounded 
soon afterwards, Clausel took the com- 
mand. In the centre the British were 
at first repulsed, but Wellington and 
Beresford restored the battle and the 
French were driven from the ground 
they had gained. Clausel now made a 
splendid effort toi prevent defeat by 
massing his centre and left for a final 
stand against the advancing victors. 
But it was in vain, and just as night 
spread her dark pall over the com- 
batants the Allies had gained a 
glorious victory, and had inflicted a 
serious blow to the French nation. 
The French loss is not known, but it 
must have been very considerable, for 
the British alone lost over 3,000 men, 
the total loss of the Allies being over 
5,000 in killed and wounded, while 
they took over 7,000 prisoners. 

Saliceti, Antoine Christophe 
(1757-1809).— Corsican deputy and 
revolutionist ; was born at Salicato, in 
Corsica, on 26 Aug. 1757 of a Piacenza 



SALICETI 

family. He studied law at Pisa, and 
became an avocat in the upper council 
of Bastia. Next to Paoli (q.v.) Saliceti 
was the most popular" man in Corsica, 
and between the two there was at first 
a great friendship. By Paoli 's in- 
fluence Saliceti was returned as pro- 
cureur-syndic, but the latter's conduct 
in this position was of too arbitrary 
a character and an estrangement 
ensued. Again, Saliceti advocated and 
supported the union of Corsica with 
France as against the English sym- 
pathies of the Paolists. In 1789 
Saliceti was elected deputy of the 
Third Estate to the French States- 
General. As deputy to the Convention 
he was the only Corsican who' voited 
for the death of the King. So com- 
plete was the rupture with Paoli that 
in the Convention Saliceti laid the 
blame of Corsican intrigue and mal- 
administration on his former leader's 
shoulders, and he was sent to Corsica 
to repress the counter-revolutionary 
movement, but the success of the party 
compelled his withdrawal tO' France, 
where he helped to quell the revolts at 
Marseilles and Toulon. At the latter 
place it was Saliceti who as com- 
missioner was of such assistance to the 
young Bonaparte by giving him- the 
necessary permission and encourage- 
ment to develop his plans at the turn- 
ing-point of his career. At the revolu- 
tion of 9 Thermidor, Saliceti as a 
friend of Robespierre was, of course, 
denounced, and was only saved from 
the guillotine by the amnesty of the 
year IV. He subsequently organized 
the Army of Italy, was a deputy to the 
council of Five Hundred, was adminis^ 
trator of the two departments into 
which Corsica had been divided, and 
held various other O'ffices under the 
Consulate and Empire. In 1806 he 
became Minister for War and Police at 
Naples under Joseph Bonaparte, a 
position which he continued to hold 
under Murat. Though he possessed 
undoubted ability, yet in public affairs 
he was unscrupulous, money-loving 
and unsympathetic. N. held him in 
great estimation, and on his premature 
death in 1809 — by poison, it is alleged 
— he wrote to Murat: "You do not 
know what you have lost and of what 
assistance this man might have been 



387 



SANHEDRIN 

in a difficult time. He was one of 
those who always succeed." Despite 
this a strangle story is connected with 
the friendship of these twO' Corsicans, 
N. and Saliceti. Thie latter actually 
relates that once when he was walking 
with N. on a narrow ledge of the 
Genoese Riviera, a sudden idea 
possessed him to hurl the future 
Emperor into the sea. His own words 
are: "We were alone, and ten times 
did the idea occur to me to throw him 
intoi the sea : one blow and the wo^rld 
was changed." It is a peculiar fact 
that though N. employed Saliceti, he 
would never permit him to be near his 
person. 

Sanhedrin, The (1807). -The 
Jewish Council convoked by N. on 
9 Feb. 1807. His attention having 
been drawn to the exorbitant rate of 
interest, 75 per cent., charged by the 
Jews in Alsace, also to their evasion 
of conscription, he addressed himself 
to the adjustment of the matter with 
characteristic energy. On 30 May 
1806 he suspended for a year all con- 
tracts and agreements entered intO' be- 
tween agriculturists and Jews in the 
eastern districts. He next entered 
into negotiations with the leading 
Israelites, and a council of representa- 
tive members was called. This proved 
a popular and useful measure, for dur- 
ing the invasion of Poland the Jews 
rendered great assistance to N. and 
his army. The proclamation and in- 
vitation was written in Hebrew, 
French, Italian, and German. The 
assembly met in a chamber of the 
Hotel de Ville at Paris on 9 Feb. 1807, 
their president being David Sinzheim, 
the Rabbi of Strassburg. The basis 
of their deliberations was supplied by 
questions relating tO' marriage, and to 
the financial and national laws govern- 
ing Jews propounded by the Emperor 
through the Comte de Mol^. Nine 
decrees were the answers of the 
council to these interrogatories : 

(i) Polygamy is forbidden to the 
Israelites. 

(2) Divorce by the Jewish law is 
only valid after the previous decision 
of the civil authorities. 

(3) The religious act of marriage 
must be preceded by a civil contract. 



SEBASTIAN 

(4) Marriages contracted between 
Israelites and Christians are binding, 
although they cannot be celebrated 
with religious rites. 

(5) Every Israelite is religiously 
bound to consider his non-Jewish 
fellow-citizens as brothers and to aid, 
protect, and love them as though they 
were co-religionists. 

(6) The Israelite is required to con- 
sider the land of his birth or adoption 
as his fatherland, and shall love and 
defend it when called upon. 

(7) Judaism does not forbid any kind 
of handicraft or occupation. 

(8) It is commendable for Israelites 
to engage in agriculture, manual 
labour, and the arts as their ancestors 
did in Palestine. 

(9) Finally Israelites are forbidden to 
exact usury from Jew or Christian. 

Formal assent to these decrees was 
not obtained by the council from the 
Jewish bodies, except those of Frank- 
fort and Holland, neither were the 
decrees binding on rank and file; but 
they were widely adopted by the Jewish 
community of their own inclination and 
secured the adherence of the mass of 
western and American Jews. Judaism 
was changing from the mediaeval form, 
and the tendency was towards a re- 
conciliation with modern life while re- 
maining loyal to the past. The 
decrees of the French Assembly em- 
bodied this tendency and therefore 
made a wide appeal. After the report 
of the council N. established the con- 
sistorial system (1808) which remained 
in force until the separation of church 
and state. This system, amongst 
other items, regulated Jewish worship 
and checked usury. 

San lldefonso, Convention of.— 
On 7 Oct. 1800 a secret convention 
was signed at San lldefonso by which 
Charles IV., King of Spain, sur- 
rendered Louisiana (q.v.) to France in 
exchange for Tuscany, which was 
ceded to the heir of Louis, Duke of 
Parma, son-in-law to the King of 
Spain. 

San Sebastian, Siege of. — On 
10 July 1813, during the Peninsular 
War, this fortress was invested by the 
British under Sir Thomas Graham, 
being garrisoned by 3,000 French 
under General Rey. After the repulse 



388 



SANTINI 

of a vigorous assault there was a sus- 
pension of the siege between 25 July 
and 2 Aug. (,see Battles of the 
Pyrenees); but by 31 Aug. the 
breaches in the walls were pronounced 
ready for the assault, and after the 
destruction of the sea-wall by mines 
the town was taken by storm, although 
with heavy expenditure. The citadel, 
however, still held out, and Rey did 
not surrender it until 8 Sept., by which 
time the walls had been shattered and 
almost everything in the castle de- 
stroyed by a terrific cannonade which 
had been kept up for seven days from 
sixty pieces of heavy artillery. This 
siege cost the Allies 3,800 men, while 
the French lost 1,300. 

Santini, Jean Giovan-Natale 
(1790- 1862).— An usher at Longwood 
and a Corsican by birth. He had been 
in the service of N. at Elba and was 
deported fromi St. Helena in October 
1 81 6. Subsequently he was imprisoned 
at Mantua and Vienna, and was kept 
under police supervision until the 
death of the Emperor. It was said 
that he was the author of a pamphlet 
entitled An Appeal to the British 
Nation, which was afterwards traced 
to Colonel Macaroni. It was whis- 
pered that it was his intention to 
assassinate Sir Hudson Lowe, with 
what truth it would be difficult tO' say. 
Eventually he became the guardian of 
the Emperor's tomb at Les Invalides. 

Saragossa. — During the Peninsu- 
lar War Saragossa was twice besieged 
by the French, On 15 June 1808 
15,000 French under Lefebvre at- 
tempted to gain possession of it, but 
it was gallantly defended by the heroic 
inhabitants who^ were led by Calvo de 
Rozas, the governor, Greneral Palafox, 
being absent in search of reinforce- 
ments for the defence of the city. On 
14 Aug. the French were obliged to 
raise the siege owing to insufficient 
troops. 

Again in December of the same year 
45,000 French under Moncey and 
Mortier laid siege to Saragossa, but 
the defence, both on the part of the 
garrison and the inhabitants, was even 
more obstinate than during the first 
siege. On 2 Jan. 1809 Moncey was 
superseded by Junot, while a little 
later N. entrusted Marshal Lannes with 



SAVARY 

the direction of the siege. Many in- 
stances of personal bravery are re- 
corded, especially among the women 
of the besieged, notably that of Augus- 
tina Zaragoza, whose story of heroism 
is well known through her sobriquet, 
"The Maid of Saragossa." After 
witnessing the most terrible carnage, 
disease and unspeakable suffering 
among the noble defenders, their gal- 
lant commander at last consented to 
negotiate for terms; and on 21 Feb. 
Greneral Palafox and the garrison were 
allowed to march out of the devastated 
city with the honours of war. 

Sauroren, Battle of (Peninsular 
War).— One of the battles of the Pyre- 
nees (q.v.) which was fought on 28 
and 30 July 1813. From the village 
of Sauroren the French, under Soult, 
on 28 July, attacked the British, who 
occupied a strong position on a ridge. 
After an unsuccessful attempt to turn 
Wellington's left Soult made a desper- 
ate attack on the British centre, but 
here again he was repulsed and with- 
drew to his former position. On the 
following day both armies awaited re- 
inforcements, Wellington expecting 
Hill's division while Soult was assured 
of having d'Erlon's aid. On the 30th, 
at dawn, Wellington attacked the 
French simultaneously on their right 
and left, while at the same time a 
general attack was made by the British 
centre. The French were obliged to 
retreat and Sauroren was carried by 
storm. 

Savary, Anne Jean Marie Rene 
Due de Rovigo (1774-18 3 3).— 
French general; was bora at Marcq- 
et-Chevrli^res, dept. Ardennes, edu- 
cated at the College of St. Louis, 
Metz, and was serving in the 
Army of the Rhine in 1792. He be- 
came captain in the following year, 
accompanied N. to Egypt, and was 
there his aide-de-camp. In 1802 he 
was made chief of the First Consul's 
secret police, and in the following year 
a general of brigade. In 1804 he com- 
manded the troops at Vincennes, and 
his efforts to exculpate himself from 
a large share of responsibility for the 
d'Enghien tragedy were accepted 
neither by contemporaries nor pos- 
terity. A general of division in 1805, 
he executed a mission to Russia, and 



389 



SAVERIA 

later achieved the brilliant action of 
Ostrolenka. He was created a duke 
after Friedland ; was sent to Spain and 
induced Ferdinand to place himself in 
the hands of N. ; and in 1810 replaced 
Fouch6 as Minister of Police. He was 
surprised by the Malet Conspiracy and 
suffered a few hours of confinement at 
La Force. He adhered to N. in the 
Hundred Days, was admitted to the ' 
Chamber of Peers, and would have fol- 
lowed the Emperor to St. Helena. 
Arrested on the Bellerophon, he suf- 
fered for a time a mild confinement at 
Malta ; escaped to Smyrna and there 
embarked in ruinous speculations. 
After a sojourn in London he returned 
to France, where he was tried and 
acquitted. In 1831 he was appointed 
commander-in-chief in Algeria, but 
soon asked for his recall on account of 
failing health. His memoires, though 
of considerable value and interest, are 
untrustworthy on many points. 

Saveria. — A servant of the Bona- 
partes engaged by Joseph at Pisa in 
1788. She remained faithful to Letizia 
through the many changes and sorrows 
of her life, and died in Rome after the 
fall of the Empire. 

Saxony.— A German state situated 
to the south of Prussia and north of 
Bohemia, and belonging toi the central 
mountainous region of Germany. At 
the time of N.'s rise and fall, the 
Elector of Saxony was Frederick 
Augustus, usually known as Frederick 
Augustus L, as he was the first king 
of Saxony. He assumed the govern- 
ment in 1768, and the first part of his 
reign was characterized by peace and 
progress, both agricultural and indus- 
trial. Many reforms were instituted, 
and the public debt was steadily re- 
duced. The first coalition of European 
powers against N. was formed in 1793, 
but in the early stages of the long 
struggle Frederick did not take much 
part — his only contribution tO' the 
Allies being the bare number of men 
necessary. He withdrew his support 
from the coalition in 1796, when 
Saxony made a definite treaty of neu- 
trality with France. 

Saxony was, however, excluded from 
the Confederation of the Rhine, w'hich 
was made by N. towards the end of 
1805, as she was believed to be friendly 



SAXON 

towards Prussia ; and it was proposed 
to include her in the North German 
Confederation — a league of the King 
of Prussia. To this N, consented, on 
condition that Prussia should disarm. 
When war broke out in 1806, Saxony's 
troops shared with Prussia's the defeat 
at Jena; and soon after the Elector 
eagerly accepted Bonaparte's offer of 
neutrality and abandoned his ally. 

At the peace of Posen in December 
1806 Frederick assumed the title of 
King of Saxony and entered the Con- 
federation of the Rhine, undertaking 
to supply N. with an army of 20,000 
men. The Saxons had much sympathy 
with the liberal ideas which N. was 
supposed to embody. Ini the new 
kingdom Roman Catholics were given 
equal rights with Protestants, and its 
foreign policy was dictated by N., to 
whom Frederick was entirely subser- 
vient. At the treaty of Tilsit, Saxony 
received the grand duchy of Warsaw 
(as a separate sovereignty), and the 
district of Cottbus, but she had in turn 
to hand over some of her German 
territory to the new kingdom of West- 
phalia. 

A Saxon army shared in the disaster 
of N.'s Russian campaign, which some, 
what shook their king's belief in the 
Emperor ; and when the Allies invaded 
Saxony in 1813 Frederick found him- 
self in a difficult position. A pro- 
clamation had been issued calling to 
arms not only the Prussians but also 
Germans of the Rhine Confederation ; 
Warsaw was gone ; Prussia coveted 
his kingdom, and indeed the Tsar was 
reported tO' have said that .Saxony 
would be a better addition to the King 
of Prussia's domains than Poland. 
Frederick opened negotiations with 
Austria, but with no result. He then 
retired to Prague, but refused to de- 
clare war on N., although he withdrew 
his troops from the French Army. 

In April 1813 the King of Saxony 
entered into a secret treaty with Aus- 
tria, whereby the former secured the 
integrity of his domains, and the latter 
30,000 men. After the battle of Lut- 
zen, however, Frederick once more 
returned to his allegiance to N. and 
placed his troops at the disposal of 
the French. During the year 1813 N. 
fought two campaigns in Saxony, the 



.-^Qo 



SHIPPENBEIL 

first openings in x'\pril and the second 
in Augrust. The French headquarters 
were at Dresden and Leipsic. By this 
time the people of Saxony had begun 
to feel N.'s yoke somewhat burden- 
some ; in addition their patriotic spirit 
was gradually being aroused, and there 
was a great revulsion of feeling against 
France. These factors combined 
caused at the battle of Leipsic the 
desertion of the Saxon troops to the 
side of the Allies ; the King was taken 
prisoner, and his dominions were 
placed under the government of 
Russia for a year. 

The disposal of Saxony was one of 
the burning questions at the Congress 
of Vienna in 1814, and after much 
controversy Prussia was given the 
northern portion, and the southern 
portion was restored tO' Frederick, who 
retained his kingship. 

Schippenbeil, Convention of. — 
See Bartenstein, Convention of. 

Schon brunn, Peace of. — The 
peace of Schonbrunn, signed by France 
and Austria on 15 Oct. i8og, brought 
to a close N.'s Austrian campaign of 
that year. Peace negotiations had been 
afoot since August, but the very 
drastic demands of N. — he asked not 
only for large territorial cessions but 
also for the abdication of the Emperor 
Francis — had prevented the plenipoten- 
tiaries from coming to terms. At 
length, however, a peace was con- 
cluded at Schonbrunn, the terms of 
which were most disastrous for Aus- 
tria. Its principal provisions were (i) 
Austria was to cede to France and to 
Bavaria large territoiries in Upper 
Austnia, Carniola, and Carinthia ; (2) 
to Russia and Saxony she was to give 
up western Galicia and a part of 
eastern Galicia; {3) she was tO' reduce 
her army to 150,000 men. The treaty 
added yet another to the list of N.'s 
triumphs, and degraded Austria from 
her position as one of the Great 
Powers. 

Sebastian!, Horace Francois 
Bastien, rComte (.1772-1851).— Mar- 
shal of France, was born in Corsica. 
Originally destined for the church, he 
abandoned that career on the outbreak 
of the Revolution and entered the army. 
He fought with distinction at Areola, 
became colonel after Verona, co-oper- 



SENTIIVIENTAL 

ated in the 18 Brumaire, and was 
present at Marengo. In 1802 he was 
made general of brigade at the Camp 
of Boulogne; was wounded at Auster- 
litz and became general of division ; 
while in 1806 he was dispatched on a 
mission to Turkey. There he succeeded 
in detaching Selim III. from the 
Coalition ; and on Constantinople be- 
ing threatened by a squadron under 
Sir John Duckworth took steps which 
caused the admiral to retire. He com- 
manded the Fourth Army Corps in 
Spain, and showed considerable skill 
during the retreat from Moscow; at 
Leipsic he received a wound. He went 
over to the Bourbons in 1814, but 
abandoned them on N.'s return from 
Elba ; was placed on half -pay after 
Waterloo, and was later chosen as a 
deputy for Corsica. Under Louis- 
Philippe he was successively minister 
of marine and foreign affairs, and also 
represented France at Naples and 
London. He was made a marshal of 
France in 1840. Sebastiani's closing 
years were embittered by the murder 
of his daughter the Duchesse de Pras- 
lin. He was buried at the Invalides. 

The marshal's magnificent physique 
and dashing manner earned him the 
title of the "Cupid of the Empire." 

Sentimental Journey. — During 
his confinement in the island of Elba 
N. on one occasion conversed about a 
journey which he took to Burgundy in 
the beginning of the Revolution, and 
which he called his "Sentimental 
Journey" to Nuitz. At that place he 
supped with his comrade Gassendi, a 
captain in the same regiment with 
himself, married to the daughter of a 
physician of the town. At table ^ N. 
remarked the difference of political 
opinion between the father and son-in- 
law, Gassendi the soldier being an 
aristocrat and the doctor having liberal 
opinions. N. took the side of the 
latter, who was so pleased with has 
assistance that he visited him upon 
the following day. The knowledge of 
his revolutionary opinions was spread 
through the town, and on all sides 
hats were doffed to him. At the house 
of Mme. Maret, or Muret, however, 
he encountered the aristocracy of the 
neighbourhood, where, as he expressed 
it, he was "caught in a veritable 



391 



SHAVING 

wasps' nest," and had it not been for 
the g^enerosity of the lady of the house, 
who exercised her wit on his behalf, 
he would have been very hardly dealt 
with. 

Shaving.— Constant relates in an 
amusing- manner how he taught N. to 
shave. He says that the Emperor was 
entirely dependent upon one or other 
of his valets for this office, and that 
did he attempt to shave he was certain 
to inflict a more or less serious wound 
upon himself. Later he became en- 
tirely dependent upon Constant who 
executed his tonsorial duties, but as his 
health was by no means g"ood, and as 
he feared that N. might some day fall 
into unskilful hands, he urged upon the 
Emperor the desirability of learning to 
shave himself. To this N. made some 
demur, but in the end consented. How- 
ever, he never succeeded in mastering 
what might be called the technique of 
shaving, for he invariably held his 
razor at right angles to the face, and 
Constant was often in dread that he 
might do himself serious damage. 

Shortt, Dr. Thomas One of the 

signatories of N.'s post-mortem. He 
attempted to dominate the proceedings 
on that occasion, but only with partial 
success, and he had .afterwards to ad- 
mit that the liver was sound. See 
Autopsy. 

Siamese Slave.— This man was a 
gardener at the Briars (St. Helena), 
the house of Balcombe, the purveyor. 
N. took a great interest in the old 
man .and often talked to him. He had 
been entrapped on board an English 
ship and thus brought to the island of 
St. Helena where he was sold as a 
slave, the man who bought him letting 
him out to hirers and taking the old 
creature's earnings. O'Meara states 
that Admiral Cockburn gave instruc- 
tions for his emancipation, but for 
some reason or other this was not done 
up to the time the admiral left the 
island. N. heard of this and desired 
Balcombe to buy the slave from his 
master and set him at liberty, the pur- 
chase price to be charged to Count 
Bertram's private account. Sir Hud- 
son Lowe for some obscure or per- 
verse reason prohibited this, and the 
Siamese remained a slave much to N.'s 
disappointment. 



SIEVES 

Siey^s, The Abb 6, Sieyes. 
Emanuel Joseph (1748-1836).— Was 

born at Frejus in 1748. He was edu- 
cated for the church at the Sorbonne, 
but philosophy more than theology 
engaged his attention, Locke and 
Condillac among other political writers 
being his favourites. He became 
vicar-general to the Bishop of Chartres 
and canon and chancellor of the church 
of that city. He was the theorist of 
the French Revolution; the "man of 
systems" for wihom- Napoleon Bona- 
oarte expressed such repugnance, yet 
the very man who together with his 
systems was to help him reach the pin- 
nacle of his ambitions. That done, 
the systems and their author were 
relegated to convenient obscurity. 

In 1789 Sieyes was appointed deputy 
from the Tiers Etat of Paris to the 
States-General. This nomination was 
due to the unique influence he pos- 
sessed, an influence gained by his 
famous pamphlet, " What is the Tiers 
Etat?" the greatest political essay 
since Rousseau. This consists largely 
of aphorisms and axioms, a style which 
charmed and appealed to the logic- 
loving French. At the very outset the 
attention is arrested by the incisive 
questions, " What is the Third Estate ? 
Everything. What has it been hitherto 
in our political system? Nothing. 
What does it ask? To become some- 
thing." This was his passport and 
an effective one (though he is said to 
have owed the mot to Chamfort), and 
one which carried him far in the Par- 
liamentary game, yet failing him at the 
goal. 

To his contemporaries he seems to 
have been looked upon as an enigma, 
mainly, it would appear, because of his 
habit of silence in the midst of a 
society distinguished by its clamour. 
His remarks, when he did speak, were 
terse and sententious, and, as Talley- 
rand observed, generally conveyed 
some thought worth utterance. In 
1790 Sieyes, occupied with the com- 
mittees and his work on the constitu- 
tion, seldom appeared in the tribune, 
and Mirabeau, speaking in full as- 
sembly, said that the silence of Sieyfes 
was a public calamity. That this 
silence was not due to any lack of 
appreciation of his own powers is 



392 



SIEVES 

amply illustrated by his saying: "The 
science of politics is one in which I 
think I am perfect." 

In his political views he differed on 
some points from Rousseau, as, for 
instance, in ascribing- vital importance 
to the system of representation which 
the Swiss thinker had decried. He 
also clearly perceived that the plan of 
government directly by the people, as 
outlined in the "Social Contract," was 
wholly unsuited to anything- more than 
a small canton, and in this particular 
the ideas of Siey^s have influenced 
political development to a greater 
degree than those of Rousseau. 

Sieyfes' first draft for the new de- 
partmental system of France suggested 
the division into eighty squares and 
prescribed the appellation of the de- 
partments solely by number, largely 
with the view of obliterating local 
sentiment. He was indefatigable in 
political and administrative work, and 
in his mind was slowly maturing the 
scheme of that perfect Constitution of 
1799, the means by which Bonaparte 
climbed to power. 

Siey^s' system of foreign policy is 
of interest .as showing the forward 
tendency of French ideas during Bona- 
parte's Egyptian campaign, and 
clearly indicates that, apart from N.'s 
ambitions, France would have sought 
to dominate Central Europe. Siey^s' 
system rested on the basic principles 
that France must have the Rhine 
boundary, and for further security, 
must place Austria and Prussia further 
to the east, retaining on the right 
bank of the river only weak states 
which, necessarily, would be under her 
control and influence. This was his 
plan for general pacification, based on 
the unquestioned supremacy of France. 
Part of this scheme was realized in the 
Treaties of Bale with Prussia and 
Spain in 1795 ; and during Sieyfes' 
mission to Berlin in 1798-9 he sought 
to acquire still more by projecting 
changes which should lead to the 
shifting of the centre of gravity of 
Prussia to the north-east. 

By 1799 ten years of political life 
had brought Siey^s to a commanding 
position in affairs, a position which, 
though it promised still greater things, 
was fated to be the end of his career. 



SIEVES 

He had done much to repress the Jaco- 
bins, and naturally expected to be the 
final builder of the constitution of the 
Revolution. Now he said France only 
needed a head and a sword. The in- 
ference was obvious. Who but Sieyfes 
was the head? — ibut who was to be 
the sword? In pursuance of this idea 
he had made overtures to General Jou- 
bert in preparation for some future 
coup d'etat, but the death of Joubert 
at the battle of Novi (1799) ended this 
scheme, whilst the return of Bonaparte 
from Egypt turned his thoughts in that 
direction, though he also scented 
danger in that quarter. Would Bona- 
parte fill the r61e and with the neces- 
sary obedience? As it proved, Bona- 
parte not only became the sword but 
the head as well. 

Siey^s had been recommended to N. 
by his coadjutors in the plot which 
brought about the famous coup d'etat 
of Brumaire (Nov. 1799) as one 
who was unambitious — a peculiarly 
mistaken opinion based on the fact 
that Sieyfes had refused several nomina- 
tions, though this was in reality but a 
deep design to mask a greater ambition 
— and with the surer statement that he 
was one who could be easily shelved 
when done with. His services at the 
crisis of the coup d'etat showed that 
for once he possessed greater presence 
of mind than Bonaparte, but after- 
wards the theorist was outpaced in the 
race for power. The constitution on 
which he had been labouring so long 
was the very first question in which N. 
worsted him. This scheme, devised 
on two chief principles — "confidence 
coming from below, power from 
above " — was an elaborate system of 
election and representation with, at its 
head, a Great Elector with two sub- 
ordinate Consuls. It was this last that 
roused Bonaparte's ire and against 
which he successfully protested, with a 
final phrase of disgust — "The Grand 
Elector would be a fatted hog or the 
chained sfhost of a roi faineant." And 
the rest is told briefly. The first three 
"provisional" consuls, Siey^s, Bona- 
parte and Roger-Ducos, were rapidly 
superseded by Bonaparte, Cambacerfes 
and Lebrun. So was the end of his 
career arranged, and the gift of a fine 
estate at Crosne from the First Consul 



393 



SMOKING 

was at once a reward and bribe. The 
wits of the day did not fail to note, as 
the words of a contemporary epigram 
show : 

** Siey^s k Bonaparte a fait present du 
trone 
Sous un pompeux debris croyant 

I'ensevelir. 
Bonaparte a Siey^s a fait present de 
Crosne 
Pour le payer et I'avelir ! " 

A certain narrowness of outlook and 
lack of force in his character were the 
effectual limitations preventing Siey^s 
from becoming the power and guide he 
might so easily have become in his 
time ; yet a certain dignified consist- 
ency throughout his career lifts him 
above the charge of mediocrity that 
has more than once been levelled 
against him. 

During the Empire his part in public 
affairs was practically nil. At the time 
of the Restorations (1814 and 1815) he 
left France, but after the Revolution of 
July 1830 he returned and died at Paris 
on 20 June 1836. 

Smoking.— "Only once," says 
Constant, "did the Emperor fancy 
smoking a pipe. It was on the follow- 
ing occasion : The Persian Ambassa- 
dor (or possibly the Ottoman Ambas- 
sador, who, during the Consulate, 
came to Paris) had made the Emperor 
a present of a very handsome Oriental 
pipe. One day he thought he should 
like to try it, so accordingly all was 
got in- readiness for such an experi- 
ment, and a light applied to the pipe- 
bowl. But in the way His Majesty 
set to work it was obviously impos- 
sible for the pipe to draw, he being 
content to open and shut his mouth 
alternately without inhaling at all. 
* Devil take it ! ' cried he at last. 
' What a time it is ! ' I ventured to 
point out that he was doing lit wrong, 
and showed him the proper vi^ay to 
smoke. But the Emperor still persisted 
in his droll sort of yawning. Tired 
out by such, futile attempts, he at last 
gave me back the pipe and told me 
to light it. This I did, and got it into 
working order. Yet scarcely had he 
puffed a cloud than the smoke, which 
he did not know how to eject from his 
mouth, got into his throat and nostrils, 



SNUFF 

comingl out of his nose and his eves. 
So soon as he recovered breath, he 
cried out, 'Take the beastly thing 
away ! Oh ! what filth ! I shall t^ 
sick directly ! ' Indeed, for over an 
hour he felt very queer, and once and 
for all relinquished a pleasure which, 
in his own phrase, was only fit to be 
'a pastime for sluggards.'" 

Smolensk, Battle of. —Towards 
the middle of August 181 2 the two 
main Russian Armies under Barclay 
de Tolly and Bagratioo effected a junc- 
tion at Smolensk. But on the night 
of the 1 6th Bagration withdrew his 
troopsi to protect the road to Moscow. 
On the 17th French forces under N. 
assaulted the city, but only after a 
fierce struggle did they succeed in 
carrying the southern suburbs, while 
the walls of the town itself still re- 
sisted attack. Meanwhile, however, 
the wooden houses had caught fire, and 
under cover of the smoke caused and 
darkness Barclay de Tolly withdrew 
his forces and rejoined Bagration, 
having caused to N. the loss of some 
12,000 men. 

Snuff. — Constant states that the 
stories that N. took quantities of snuff 
from a leather-lined waistcoat pocket 
are altogether erroneous. "The 
Emperor never took snuff except out 
of snuff-boxes, and though in the main 
he consumed a good deal, he only took 
a very little at a time, merely putting 
a pinch tO' his nostrilsi just to sniff it 
and then letting it fall. True, the 
place where he stood was covered with 
snuff, but his handkerchiefs — infallible 
as evidence herein — ^were scarcely 
stained at all, though they were white 
and of very fine cambric. They cer- 
tainly bore no marks of the confirmed 
snuff-taker. He often was content tO' 
hold the open box to his nose and just 
smell the snuff. His snuff-boxes were 
narrow, oval ones, made of tortoise- 
shell, gold-mounted, with cameos or 
antique gold and silver medallions 
upon them. He used to have round 
snuff-boxes, but as it required both, 
hands to open these, and as this opera- 
tion often resulted in his either drop- 
ping the box or spilling its contents, 
he grew disgusted withi them. He 
always used very coarse snuff — usually 
a mixture of various kinds ; with some 



394 



SOCIETY 

of this, for fun, he used to feed the 
gazelles which he had at Saint-Cloud. 
They relished it immensely, and, 
thoug^hi shy of everybody else, always 
fearlessly approached His Majesty." 

Society under Napoleon.— Much 
that we have said about Consular 
society holds good also concerning that 
of the Empire, yet between the two 
periods there were certain differences, 
and to call attention toi these is indis- 
pensable. We have seen that during 
the Consulate Bonaparte himself ex- 
erted a distinct influence upon social 
manners and customs ; yet at this time 
he was only a brilliant soldier, a clever 
politician, who had chanced to be on 
the spot wheni France was in a state 
of chaos, and who had contrived to get 
the reins of the country into his hands. 
His position, in short, was somewhat 
similar to that which Barras had held, 
the main distinction consisting really 
in the fact that the First Consul was 
a man of genius and personal mag- 
netism, whereas his immediate pre- 
decessor was not. After Bonaparte's 
coronation, however, his situation 
became considerably altered ; for now 
he was not only ruler of the state, but 
the acknowledged head of French 
society. It must be borne in mind, 
too, that he insisted on having his own 
way in many matters with which 
sovereigns do not commonly meddle ; 
while Josephine, on her part, entered 
with great zest into the part of queen- 
playing, thus exercising an influence 
far beyond what she had had in the 
Consulate. And so, in studying Empire 
society, in trying to arrive at a true 
picture thereof, we must keep our gaze 
fixed chiefly on the imperial court, 
marking what sort of example it gave, 
what sort of criterion it set up. Of 
course the private life of a king and 
bis consort are always veiled to some 
extent in mystery, yet people wrote 
about the Bonapartes with considerable 
freedom^ — a greater freedom, perhaps, 
than was employed by most trust- 
worthy chroniclers of the Bourbons' 
doings — and in consequence we have at 
our disposal a good deal of valuable 
matter. There is, for example, the 
Journal et Souvenirs of Stanislas 
Girardin, together with the Memohes 
of Prince Metternich ; while no less im- 



SOCIETY 

portant are the writings of men like 
Fouch^ and Constant, and most in- 
teresting of all, possibly, are the writ- 
ings of Mmes. Avrillon, R6musat 
and d'Abr antes, all of whom were well 
acquainted with the vie intime of the 
Emperor and Empress. 

The man who is placed in a promi- 
nent public position is almost invari- 
ably, if not inevitably, the subject of 
much, gossip; and N. proved no 
exception to the general rule, his 
quarrels with his wife and his occa- 
sional liaisons being discussed far and 
near by scandalmongers. These had 
to own, nevertheless, that the Em- 
peror's filial piety was admirable, while 
his keenest detractors could not deny 
that he showed the utmost generosity 
towards his sisters. N.'s mother, 
officially styled Mme. M6re from the 
inauguration of the Empire, was 
granted a suite of private apartments 
in the Tuileries, her son himself see- 
ing that she enjoyed here every 
imaginable comfort; while the sisters, 
Elisa, Pauline, and Caroline Bona- 
parte, each of whom acquired the title 
of princess on their brother gaining the 
French throne, were allowed to spend 
money lavishly. Josephine, mayhap 
because she was a little jealous of 
them, vied with them in extravagance ; 
and, besides having ushers, footmen, 
and pages, she had a large entourage 
of maids-of-honour, ladies-in-waiting, 
and wardrobe-women. The latter, 
almost every morning, were caused 
much unnecessary trouble by their mis- 
tress, who made them bring her 
basket after basket piled with inter- 
minable clothes, from which she 
selected such as she thought she would 
like to wear that day, now posing in 
a new dress before the mirror, now 
throwing aside a host of proffered 
articles, to be set in order afterwards 
by the patient attendants. And this 
sort of thing very naturally had an 
immediate effect upon French society, 
fosterling in its ladies a desire for 
gorgeousness and a habit of reckless 
expenditure. An offensive idea be- 
came current that the woman who: 
was not luxuriously dressed was an 
object of just scorn, and an English 
visitor to Napoleonic France, Lady 
Morgan — ^authoress of a once popular 



395 



SOCIETY 

novel called The Wild Irish Girl — 
tells us that on her informingf so'me 
Empire helles that she herself pos- 
sessed but one Kashmir shawl, she 
was told that this state of affairs 
was hardly respectable ! Moreover, 
Joisephine and the sisters Bonaparte 
were all inordinately fond of wearing 
jewellery, and this practice, little in 
evidence during the Consulate, now 
became a positive rage, numerous 
ladies spending thereon many thou- 
sands of pounds every year. This 
was the case in particulan with a pair 
of famous beauties, both widely looked 
upon as important leaders in matters 
of fashion — Mmes. Savary and Maret, 
of whom the former subsequently be- 
came Duchesse de Rovigo, the latter 
Duchesse de Bassano^ — ^and, indeed, 
the sums which they squandered in 
this and analagous ways gradually 
passed into a sort of proverb with 
the Parisian populace. No doubt 
people exaggerated grossly when 
mentioning the amounts supposed to 
be spent thus by either of the two-, 
yet there is every reason to believe 
that in both instances it was infinitely 
in advance of any kindred extrava- 
gance on the part of any lady of pre- 
Revolution times. Nor can it be gain- 
said that N. himself — though not to 
the same extent as his wife — was in- 
strumental in nurturing this new mode 
of luxuriousness, for in his eagerness 
that his court should be glittering and 
renowned throughout Europe he en- 
couraged women toi adorn themselves 
elaborately. His own style of living, 
however, seems to have been frugal 
rather than otherwise, although we 
are told that he was greatly addicted 
tO' drinking coffee ; and it need hardly 
be added that, his fondness for that 
beverage becoming known, its con- 
sumption began tO' increase rapidly in 
French society, so anxious were people 
to do as the Emperor did, whether 
they really shared his tastes or not. 

For a long time before the Revolu- 
tion Rousseau had preached loudly 
the necessity of returning to a more 
rational, a less artificial manner of 
living; and in the Consulate it seemed 
as though, in some measure, at all 
events, French society had accepted 
the tenets of the Genevan philosopher. 



SOCIETY 

With the advent of N. as Emperor, 
however, people began to forget Jean 
Jacques' drastic teaching, and, in fact, 
the life of the average fashionable 
woman of the Empire was largely an 
unnatural one. Rising from bed late 
in the morning, she would have a bath 
scented with almoin ds, after which, 
with the assistance of her maid, she 
would make an elaborate toilet; and 
then, having partaken of petit de- 
jeuner, she would dally with the Mer- 
cure de France or the Journal des 
Dehats. Thereafter she would commit 
herself for a considerable time to the 
tender mercies of the manicurist and 
the chiropodist, and next she would 
interview her domestics, and possibly 
her tradesmen, while probably she 
would send for her secretary and 
have her correspondence transacted. 
Having wasted the best hours of the 
day in this manner, she would find it 
was high time toi make her afternoon 
toilet, this -necessitating the summon- 
ing of the hairdresser; and, indeed, 
many Napoleonic helles were wont to 
spend by far the greater part of their 
time in dressing and redressing them- 
selves, the final change of costume 
taking place before they sallied out 
at nightfall, either toi a party or to 
a theatre. This existence, neverthe- 
less, was varied occasionally by 
healthier pursuits, for if the fashion- 
able ladies of the Empire did not join 
the men in outdoor games, or in 
the skating which went on in frosty 
weather at the reservoir of La 
Vilette, they would often go to the 
Champ de Mars to see the races, 
while a favourite mode of spending 
a fine day. was to take the coach to 
St. Cloud. Furthermore, driving in 
the Bois de Boulogne was nearly as 
popular and fashionable with the rich 
Parisians of N.'s reign as with those of 
a later day ; but young women of the 
Empire were frequently prone to 
eschew the Bois in favour of the 
Champs Elysees or the Terrasse des 
Feuillants, the attraction at these 
places being the hordes of young 
officers. The doings of these last 
formed the topic of endless gossip in 
the various drawing-rooms, and N.'s 
subjects, whether approving or not of 
his bellicose attitude towards Europe 



396 



SOCIETY 

in general, were ever ready to go and 
see the splendid martial reviews which 
the Emperor insisted on holding" con- 
stantly. Never before this era had 
soldiering been so much in evidence 
in Paris, never had watching it been 
so coimmon a pursuit with society. 

As N. himself always took a keen 
interest in art, it became fashionable 
with his people to: cultivate this in- 
terest, or at least to feign a taste for 
painting. Thus the Louvre, part of 
which had lately been transformed into 
a picture-gallery, was a chosen resort 
with Napoleonic society, the majority 
of its young women, withal, vastly 
preferring the occasional shows of 
contemporary painting, notably that 
held by the Academic Fran9aise. That 
institution, suppressed soon after the 
fall of Louis XVL, had reappeared 
during the Consulate as Class IV. of 
the Institute; but thenceforward it 
never succeeded to any great extent 
in diiscerning what artists of the time 
were really gifted and in electing themi 
to its ranks. Still, if in this respect 
it was far inferior to its predecessor, 
it enjoyed an even greater prestige 
than the latter had done, and to the 
Empire ladies aforesaid it seemed that 
the crowning glory for a painter was 
to have his works displayed on the 
walls of the Academy. Military paint- 
ings, of course, were those which were 
most in evidence there throughout N.'s 
reign, yet none of these, perhaps, ever 
created such a stir in society as the 
canvas of Baron Gros, Les Pestiferes 
de Jaffa. Its frame was hung round 
with laurel and palm, and day after 
day a fashionable crowd came to gaze 
at the baron's handiwork. 

Trustworthy writers on the subject 
are agreed that the different state 
functions ajt the Tuileries were mostly 
conducted in very punctilious fashion. 
Once or twice nearly every week, says 
Mme. de Remusat, the Emperor held 
a small evening gathering at his 
Parisian palace ; and the authoress 
goes on to relate that the guests 
commonly arrived about eight o'clock, 
the first diversion offered them' being 
merely card-playing. N. himself, we 
are further informed, seldomi or never 
took part in this, being far too busy 
with affairs of state, and his friends 



SOCIETY 

had usually been assembled for an 
hour, if not longer, before he made 
his appearance among them. Then 
they would do' obeisance toi him 
solemnly, and, the cards being laid 
aside, a concert was given by a band 
of Italian musicians; while at eleven 
o'clock an elaborate supper was 
served, although as a rule the Em- 
peror refrained from touching a single 
morsel of the dainties, wisely content- 
ing himself with watching his friends 
eating. Officers in the army, coming 
toi these functions, were allowed and 
even encouraged to appear in uni- 
form, but civilians, of course, were 
expected to wear court dress. And 
while N. would frequently welcome of 
an evening some distinguished man 
who' had never been presented tO' him 
officially, his attitude towards female 
guests was different, no' woman being 
allowed! on any account to come to 
a party at the Tuileries unless she had 
previously gone through the presenta- 
tion ceremony. The Emperor in other 
ways watched over his wife jealously, 
and was always irritated on finding 
that anyone whom, he did not regard 
as, desirable had been seen conversing 
with her either in the palace or in the 
grounds; while Marie Louise herself, 
if annoyed by this eternal surveillance, 
would seem tO' have shared abundantly 
her husband's taste for ceremonial. 
Josephine, as mentioned before, loved 
the part of queen-playing, yet she was 
naturally gay and flighty, never de- 
manding in reality nearly so much 
pompi and state as her successor did. 
And the imperial predilections in this 
particular — more, perhaps, than any- 
thing else — affected French life during 
the Empire, making it different from 
that of the Consulate. Rich people 
now gave parties whose sedate con- 
duct was copied deliberately from that 
observed at the Tuileries ; politicians 
and others, making speeches, seldom 
spoke in a natural way, but studiously 
adapted high-sounding phrases from 
the authors of bygone Greece and 
Rome ; and a certain pompousness 
became the vogue even in ordinary 
parlance among fashionable people, 
just that pompousness which long 
before had characterized the talk of 
the nohlesse surrounding the great 



397 



SOULT 

Louis. His ag"e, appropriately styled 
le grand sidcle, has frequently been 
compared to the Napoleonic time, 
and in nothing, possibly, do' we 
observe a rapprochement between 
themi SO' clearly as in this strange 
affection for formality, manifested so 
strongly by society in either period. 

Soult, Nicolas Jean de Dieu 
Due de Dalmatia, (1769-1851).— Mar- 
shal of France; was born of humble 
parents at St. Amans-la-Bastide, Tarn, 
on 29 March 1769. At the age of six- 
teen he enlisted in the royal regiment 
of infantry, and in 1792 obtained a 
commission in the grenadiers. Under 
Hoche, Jourdan, and Lefebvre he dis- 
tinguished himself by a bravery always 
subservient to sound discretion, and in 
1796 he rose to the rank of general of 
brigade. Soult first became prominent 
when co-operating with Mass^na 
against the Austrians and Russians in 
Switzerland, where he was promoted to 
general of division. At the end of the 
Swiss campaign he joined the Army of 
Italy, again co-operating with Mas- 
sena, but their continual fighting 
against superior forces at last re- 
sulted in the two generals being shut 
up in Genoa, their obstinate defence of 
which city has since become cele- 
brated. From this period commenced 
the friendship which Bonaparte ever 
after entertained for him. N., who 
only knew Soult by report, one day 
inquired of Massena whether he de- 
served his high reputation. " For 
judgment and courage," replied 
Mass6na, "he has scarcely a superior." 
The consequence of this honest tribute 
was that Soult held .an important com- 
mand in Italy till the conclusion of the 
peace of Amiens, and on his return to 
France he was received with distinction 
by the First Consul. On the establish- 
ment of the empire Soult was created 
a marshal. When the invasion of Eng- 
land was resolved on, he was en- 
trusted with the command of the 
imposing mass of troops assembled at 
Boulogne, and so severe was the dis- 
cipline enforced by him that even N. 
questioned whether the men would 
stand the strain. The marshal accom- 
panied the Emperor in the campaign 
of 1805, and greatly distinguished him- 
self at Austerlltz, oh which occasion 



SOULT 

he led the right wing. Although the 
whole weight of the enemy's attack 
fell upon his wing, he succeeded in 
gaining and holding the heights of 
Pratzen, which' was the key of the 
situation, and thus assured the victory. 
At Jena and Eylau he further en- 
hanced his reputation by his courage 
and skill in generalship, and after the 
peace of Tilsit he was created Duke of 
Dalmatia. Soult, however, was now 
sent to a scene of action where his 
ablest measures were attended with 
failure — Spain. In the autumn of 
1808, together with Lannes and Victor, 
he helped to open a path of triumph 
to Madrid for N. and his brother 
Joseph ; but later, in his pursuit of Sir 
John Moore, whose retreat he 
harassed, he was completely repulsed 
under the walls of Corunna while 
attempting to prevent the embarkation 
of the British troops. He had suc- 
ceeded, however, in forcing the British 
to evacuate the country and his next 
step was to invade Portugal. Oporto 
was taken, and though he never com- 
pletely subdued Portugal he governed 
the country till the arrival of Sir 
Arthur Wellesley. The British then 
marched against him with such celerity 
that Soult was surprised at the pas- 
sage of the Douro, and obliged to re- 
treat to Galicia. After the disaster of 
Talavera, Soult hastened to effect a 
junction with Ney and Mortier in order 
to make a combined attack on the 
Allies ; but Wellesley, now Viscount 
Wellington, who could not rely upon 
the Spanish generals, and who alone 
was not strong enough, to withstand 
such a co'mbination of forces, retired 
into Portugal. In Nov. 1809 
Soult gained a brilliant victory over 
the Spaniards at Ocana and overran 
Andalusia. When Massena entered 
Portugal, Soult reduced Badajos, the 
key of the Guadiana, where he left 
a garrison, and returned to Andalusia. 
That fortress, however, was soon in- 
vested by the Allies ; he advanced to 
its relief, and on 16 May i8n gave 
battle to Beresford at Albuera, where 
he was defeated and forced to retreat. 
In the spring of 1813 he was sum- 
moned by N. to Germany, and at 
Liitzen he distinguished himself at the 
head of the Guards, while at Bautzen 



398 



SPAIN 

he led the centre. While at Dresden, 
however, news of the defeat of the 
French at Vittoria reached the Em- 
peror, and Soult was immediately sent 
back to Spain to stay the progress of 
Wellington. His first attempt was to 
relieve Pampeluna, but after being 
twice repulsed he saw clearly that he 
could neither avert the invasion of 
France nor materially retard the ad- 
vance of the Allies, and therefore fell 
back on his entrenched camp at 
Bayonne. There, however, finding his 
position untenable, he continued his 
retreat westward. On z'j Feb. 1814 
he was defeated at Orthez, ajnd on 
10 April he suffered another defeat 
under the walls of Toulouse. On the 
abdication of the Emperor, Soult 
submitted to the government of 
Louis XVm., but joined N. on his 
return from Elba. He foug-ht at 
Ligny and Waterloo, and was banished 
when the Bourbon government was 
restored to power in 181 5, not being" 
recalled till i8ig. At the beginning- of 
the following" year his marshal's baton 
Avas restored to him, and he was 
gradually restored to all his other 
honours. On the abdication of 
Charles X. he g-ave in his adhesion to 
the government of Louis Philippe, and 
in Aug. 1830 he was raised to the 
dignity of a peer of France, while in 
the following Nov. he was made 
minister for war. Three times Soult 
held the office of prime minister ; but 
perhaps the most interesting episode 
in his life occurred in 1838, when he 
was sent as ambassador to the corona- 
tion of Queen Victoria, on which occa- 
sion he met his old enemy, Welling- 
ton. Soult died on 26 Nov. 1851 at 
his chateau of Soultberg, near St. 
Amans. 

Spain. — Charles IV. of Spain had 
inherited from his father, Charles OL, 
the art of despotism without the 
ability to wield it. Indeed, he appears 
to have been almost on the verge of 
imbecility, and under the influence of 
his wife, Maria Louisa of Parma, a 
coarse-grained woman, but one of con- 
siderable parts. His ministers treated 
him with tutorial disdain, and he was 
regarded as a man of slight account. 
These statesmen viewed the Revolu- 
tionary outbreak in France with alarm. 



SPAIN 

They had believed that could they 
establish an entente with Royalist 
France, they would be enabled to 
checkmate the naval supremacy of 
Great Britain, on whose ruin on the 
seas they hoped to reconstitute their 
own maritime power. But the 
"Family Compact," by virtue of which 
they were to have neutralized British 
sea power, was broken by the circum- 
stance of the Revolution. Florida- 
blanca, moreover, desired to avenge 
the downfall of his hopes by striking 
a blow at Republican France, and to 
this end conspired with, the Smigres 
and the other powers. Maria Louisa, 
however, saw in this policy the diminu- 
tion of those monies which she 
squandered upon personal pleasure, 
and in 1792 induced Charles to banish 
the minister. Aranda was put in his 
place, and he held office only inasmuch 
as his views were in accordance with 
those of the Queen and of Godoy, her 
paramour. A policy of neutrality dis- 
gusted the other powers. Later in the 
same year Aranda was dismissed, and 
the power of dealing with foreign 
affairs vested in Godoy. But the 
execution of Louis XVI. roused 
monarchical Spain to a white heat of 
fury, and the relationship of the slain 
king to Charles rendered Castilian in- 
tervention a foregone conclusion. 
War ensued, and the campaigns of 
1793 and 1794 reflected but Httle glory 
upon the Spanish arms, successive de- 
feats being due more to governmental 
incompetence than military inability. 
In 1795 the Treaty of Basel (q-v.) was 
concluded with France, and popular 
acclaim bestowed upon the favourite 
Godoy the title of "Prince of the 
Peace." But by the treaty and subse- 
quent compact of San IldefonsO' Spain 
became almost an appanage of the 
French Republic, and the real aim of 
these treaties was obviously to drag 
Spain into the war with Briitain. 
Spain's awakening came with the 
battle of St. Vincent (q.v.), in which 
Nelson pressed the Spanish fleet back 
on Cadiz, and so cut her off from 
her colonies. Godoy, detested by both 
Liberals and Ultramontanes, had lost 
the favour of his royal mistress by his 
intrigues in other directions, and was 
forced tO' resign in March 1798. Freed 



399 



SPAIN 

from his regime and unharassed by 
France during the absence of N. in 
Eg-ypt, Spain enjoyed comparative in- 
dependence. But upon the return of 
the First Consul to France he insisted 
upon the restoration of Godoy, who 
had also found his way back into the 
personal favour of Maria Louisa. By 
the secret treaty of San Ildefonso 
(q.v.) (Oct. 7 1800) Spain undertook to 
cede Louisiana (q.v.) and to assist 
France in a military capacity. In the 
following year Spain was compelled to 
attack Portugal, the Spanish troops 
being led by Godoy in person. Godoy 
concluded a separate peace with the 
Lusitanian kingdom, but N. compelled 
Charles to refuse recognition to it, and 
much harsher terms were imposed upon 
Portugal. N. also ceded Trinidad, a 
Spanish colony, to Great Britain, and 
sold Louisiana to the United States 
without in any way consulting the 
court of Madrid. N., becoming in- 
volved in a new war with England, 
enforced men and money from Spain, 
whose navy was finally shattered at 
Finisterre and Trafalgar. By the 
Treaty of Fontainebleau in Oct. 1807, 
Spain engaged to assist France against 
Portugal. Meanwhile Prince Ferdi- 
nand, Charles's son, had entered into 
secret relations with France. But the 
intrigue was discovered by Godoy, 
who induced Charles toi have his son 
arrested on the plea of plotting to de- 
throne his parents. Meanwhile N., 
under the pretext of reinforcing his 
army in Portugal, had poured troops 
into Spain ; he swiftly removed the 
mask, and seeing his move in its true 
bearings, Charles and Godoy resolved 
upon flight. A popular rising fol- 
lowed, and Charles deemed it wise to 
abdicate in favour of Ferdinand. 
Murat, not tO' be put off by this step, 
occupied Madrid. N. managed, by a 
series of clever moves, to get the per- 
sons of Charles, Maria Louisa, Godoy, 
and Ferdinand into his power, and 
confronting them with one another a 
pitiful scene ensued. Charles and his 
queen were pensioned off and retired 
to Rome, and Ferdinand was sent to 
Talleyrand's villa at Valencay, where 
he remained for six years. A "Junta 
of Regency " was improvised at 
Madrid, and was told by Murat that 



STAEL 

N. desired them to accept his brother 
Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. 
A popular revolt ensued. The story of 
the liberation of Spain is, to a great 
extent, that of the Peninsular War 
(q.v.). In 1814 Ferdinand was re- 
stored to the royal authority. The 
power of N. had been wrecked on the 
resistance of the Spanish people. 

Stael, Madame de.— Anne Louise 
Germaine Necker, Baronne de Stael- 
Holstein (i 766-1 81 7), French novelist 
and miscellaneous writer, born at 
Paris 22 April 1766, her father, the 
famous financier Necker, her mother, 
Suzanne Curchod. 

Madame de Stael as a child dis- 
played intellectual powers of unusual 
quality, and began to write at an early 
age, though not to publish. 

On her father's dismissal from the 
ministry, following upon the presenta- 
tion of the Compte, the family Avent to 
reside at Coppet, Necker's estate on 
the Lake of Geneva, a place which 
was to become indissolubly linked with 
her name. On their return to Paris 
in 1785, Mile. Necker devoted herself 
to literary work ; Sophie, a novel, 
being printed in 1786, and a tragedy, 
Jeanne Grey, in 1790. Then came the 
question of marriage, and Mile. 
Necker's choice fell upon Baron de 
Stael-Holstein, then an attache of the 
Swedish legation, her choice, it is 
stated, being influenced by the fact 
that Stael was a "fervent advocate of 
Necker's political opinions and devoted 
to his official interests." The mar- 
riage was certainly one of convenance. 
The question of affection was '* in- 
tellectually " ignored, and the negotia- 
tions on each side extended over some 
years as if for a purely business pro- 
position. Marie Antoinette is said to 
have used her influence with 
Gustavus III. of Sweden to promise 
the Baron, as far as possible, a per- 
manent position at the Paris legation 
as ambassador and a pension in case 
of his withdrawal. The marriage took 
place in Jan. 1786, Stael being thirty- 
seven years old, the bride twenty. 
The business aspect of the union-seems 
to have pleased both, neither interfered 
with the other; the Baron profited by 
his wife's fortune, and Madame en- 
joyed a prominent position in society 



400 



STAEL 

as the ambassadress of a foreig-n 
power of some importance. Three 
children were born of the marriage. 

According- to contemporary writers, 
Mme. de Stael played her new part 
well, if in a somewhat flamboyant 
style. Her politics took the form^ of 
a mixture of Rousseauism and consti- 
tutionalism, a form to which she re- 
mained loyal always. In 1788 there 
appeared, under her own name, some 
Lettres sur J. J. Rousseau, a talented 
but exaggerated eulogy, with no trace 
of critical power. Owing to the de 
Staels's influence at court, as averred 
by some, Necker's political fortunes 
had again brightened, yet again in- 
trigue procured his final dismissal. He 
left France, but his daughter was 
unable to accompany him, her first 
child, .a son, having been born a week 
before. Her position as ambassadress 
was a protection in the increasing 
dangers of the Revolution, .and this 
protection she had generously extended 
to friends in danger. This becoming 
known rendered her speedy departure 
from Paris desirable, and, with the 
help of Manuel and Tallien, she fled, 
the day before the Sept. massacres. 

Coppet was her refuge, and, 
generous always, she extended its hos- 
pitality to many friends and refugees. 
Thus began the "court of Mme. de 
Stael," so famous during the next 
twenty-five years. In 1793 she visited 
England, settling at Mickleham, in 
Surrey. Many details of this period 
are to be found in the letters of Fanny 
Burney. Mickleham was the centre of 
the Moderate Liberal Emigres, includ- 
ing among others Talleyrand (q.v.), 
Narbonne, and Jaucourt. Scandal arose 
concerning Mme. de Stael's relations 
with Narbonne, and the basis of it has 
never been refuted successfully. On her 
return tO' Coppet she wrote a pamphlet 
on the Queen's execution {Reflexions 
sur le proems de la reine), and, soon 
following, the Epitre au Malheur. In 
the next year occurred the death of 
her mother ; whilst the fall of Robes- 
pierre allowed her return to Paris. 
She reopened her salon, M. de Stael 
having been accredited to the French 
Republic by the Regent of Sweden, and 
was one of that strange and motley 
society under the Directory, she lead- 



STAEL 

ing the intellectuals, Mme. Tallien and 
Josephine de Beauharnais the fashion- 
ables. About this time she wrote her 
Reflexions sur la Paix, adressees a M. 
Pitt et aux Francais and Reflexions 
sur la Paix Interieure. By now, 
though believing in a constitutional 
monarchy, she was not favourable to 
the restoration of monarchy in France 
with, of necessity, its attendant re- 
action and possible revenge of the 
deeds of the Revolution. One of her 
remarks in these essays has been cited 
as an example of her mental foresight. 
"France," she states, "can never be- 
come a mixed monarchy without pass- 
ing through a military despotism." 
Other small works published were De 
I'influence des passions and De la 
litterature consideree dans ses rapports 
avec les institutions sociales. 

These years in Paris mark the time 
of her chief political importance and 
her first meeting with two people who 
were to have a great influence on her 
life, Benjamin Constant, her lover, and 
Bonaparte, her enemy, according to 
her and her friends. Many reasons 
have been advanced to account for her 
"duel" with N. Political reasons 
were of first importance, but tempera- 
mental ones were also present, besides 
which the first man in France and she, 
who desired above all things to be- 
come the first woman in that country, 
were bound to come into collision. If 
judgment must be given them on the 
evidence left to us by the most reliable 
authoirities, the "woman of sentiment" 
emerges in rather a sorry condition 
from the trial, and N. is shown to have 
been, if not magnanimous, then 
greatly forbearing in his treatment of 
a really troublesome character. Rather 
might she be called the persecutor, for 
with her intense egotism she dreamed 
of nothing less than to rule France 
through Bonaparte. 

Though knowing well that the First 
Consul disliked and suspected her she 
continued to hold her salon in Paris, 
and to have her say about affairs in no 
quiet manner. Moreover, she was left 
unmolested, though her part in various 
intrigues was not unknown. After the 
death of her husband she retired to 
Coppet, and in that year (1802) pub- 
lished her first work of note, Delphine. 



2 A 



401 



STAEL 

In this book the " femme incomprise " 
was first introduced into French Htera- 
ture, and in its pages the authoress 
and her intimates appear in thin dis- 
guises. 

In 1803 Mme. de Stael returned to 
Paris. To forestall possible develop- 
ments she fussily appealed to all kinds 
of persons of official and social in- 
fluence to protect her from N. She 
knew well that her intrigues were 
known by the secret police and duly 
reported by them to the First Consul, 
who was now fully aware, as he stated 
afterwards, that Coppet was "an 
arsenal whence munitions of war were 
sent forth against him all over Europe." 
To Las Cases he remarked later that 
"she carried on hostilities with the one 
hand and supplication with the other." 
So, by posing as the tortured martyr 
Mme. de Stael hoped to escape her 
just deserts; but N.'s forbearance had 
now reached its limit, and the com- 
mand was issued that she was not to 
reside within forty miles of Paris. 
She commanded her son to seek an 
interview with N, to beg him to cancel 
the decree of exile, but to no purpose, 
for he refused toi alter his dedision. 

She was now N.'s bitterest foe, and 
spent her years of banishment in 
wandering from court to court 
calumniating his name and fame and 
promoting international intrigues 
against his throne and France. On 
receiving the command of exile she 
immediately set out to travel with her 
lover. Constant, staying at Weimar 
that winter. Later, at Berlin, she met 
August Wilhelm Schlegel, who be- 
came one of her devoted satellites at 
the Coppet "court." In April, at 
Vienna, she heard of her father's 
death. This was undoubtedly a blow 
to her, for the affection she bore him 
was of the sincerest, the deepest feel- 
ing her character ever knew. 

She was now both wealthy and in- 
dependent, and gathered around her at 
Coppet a brilliant company. To 
collect the materials for her famous 
Corinne she travelled to Italy with 
Schlegel and Sismondi, spending nearly 
all the year 1805 in the writing of it; 
1807 saw its publication. In 1806 she 
had defied the decree of exile, and, 
settling near Paris, had remained there 



STAEL 

undisturbed, but on the appearance of 
Corinne the police authorities ordered 
her return to Coppet. Again she 
visited Germany, and in 1808, having 
broken with Constant, she devoted her 
time to her book De VAllemagne. 
This occupied her for twoi years, years 
which she spent at her home. She 
had determined to publish her book in 
Paris. With this end in view she 
wrote to the Emperor, an action which 
availed her nothing, its only result 
being the immediate condemnation of 
the whole edition (10,000 copies) of her 
book and a further mandate of exile, 
this time fro^m France altogether. 
Again she retired to Coppet, and there, 
in 181 1, she secretly married a young 
officer of Swiss origin, named Rocca, 
twenty-three years her junior. The 
fact of this marriage was not known 
till after her death. A son was born 
of the union. 

Coppet, till now her refuge and 
base for intrigue, came at last within 
the sphere of police operations, 
directed from Paris, and Mme. de Stael 
decided to put herself out of reach of 
the "tyrant." Mme. Recamier and 
Montmorency had been exiled for visit- 
ing her, and she left Coppet almost 
secretly en route for Russia. She 
stayed at St. Petersburg, wintered at 
Stockholm, and spent the season of 
1813 in England, where she received a 
brilliant reception. Many descriptions 
of Mme, de Stael, her manner and 
conversation, are to be found in the 
letters and writings of famous men of 
the day, Byron amongst others. At this 
time occurred the death of her second 
son, Albert, who fell in a duel follow- 
ing upon a gambling dispute. De 
I'AUemagne was published in the 
autumn, and she also began work on 
her Considerations sur la revolution 
frangaise. 

After the Hundred Days her health, 
and that of Rocoa, having broken 
down, she travelled to Italy, and there 
her daughter Albertine married the 
Due de Broglie in 181 6. June of that 
year saw her again at Coppet, where 
Byron was now a frequent visitor, but 
in the winter she returned to Paris and 
opened again her salon, which was 
frequented by all the notables of the 
period. But her health grew rapidly 



402 



STAPS 

worse, and she died on 14 July 181 7, 
survived by her second husband for a 
short six months. 

Staps (1792-1809) —Was the son 

of a Thuring^ian pastor, an ardent 
Tugfendbundist and an admirer of 
Joan of Arc. Inflamed by his ideals, 
he made an attempt upon the life of 
N. during- a review at Schonbrunn 
(12 Oct. 1809). He arrived at the 
palace armed with a long- knife, and 
his plan was to stab the Emperor 
whilst he read a petition. Berthier 
and Rapp, suspecting- the lad by 
reason of his peculiar manner, had 
him searched and brought before 
N., who questioned himi as follows: 
"What did you mean to do with that 
knife?" "Kill you," the lad replied. 
"You are an idiot or an Illuminat." 
"I am not an idiot and doi not know 
what an Illuminat is." "Then you 
are diseased." "No, I am quite 
well." "Then why do yO'U wish to 
kill me?" "Because you are the 
curse of my Fatherland." "You are 
a fanatic ; I will forg-ive you and spare 
your life." "I want no forg-iveness." 
"Would you thank me if I pardoned 
you?" "I would ag"ain seek to kill 
you." 

This happened on the i2thi, and the 
same day the Emperor sent the follow- 
ing- account to Fouche : "A youth of 
seventeen, son of a Lutheran minister 
of Erfurt, sought to approach me on 
parade to-day. He was arrested by 
the officers, and as the little man's 
agitation had been noticed suspicion 
was aroused ; he was searched and a 
dagger found upon him. I had him 
brought before me, and the little 
wretch, who seemed to me fairly well 
educated, told me that he wished to 
assassinate me to deliver Austria from 
the presence of the French. I could 
distinguish in him neither religious 
nor political fanaticism. He did not 
appear to know exactly whoi or what 
Brutus was. The fever of excitement 
he was in prevented our knowing 
more. He will be examined when he 
has cooled down and fasted. It is 
possible that it will come toi nothing. 
He will be arraigned before a military 
commission, I wished to inform' you 
of this circumstance in order that it 
may not be made more important than 
5t appears to be. I hope it will not 



STOKOE 

leak out; if it does we shall have to 
represent the fellow as a madman. If 
it is not spoken of at all, keep it to 
yourself. The whole affair made no 
disturbance at the parade ; I myself 
saw nothing of it. P.S. — ^I repeat 
once more, and you understand 
clearly, that there is to be no dis- 
cussion of this occurrence." Some 
authorities have asserted that this 
affair unnerved N. and caused him' 
to conclude peace sooner than he 
would otherwise have done. That 
this is quite incorrect is proved by 
the fact that on 10 Oct. — 'two days 
before the incident — N. had written to 
the Tsar practically intimating that 
peace was already settled, only await- 
ing signature. One effect on N., 
though, must be admitted, and that 
was it helped to determine him on the 
matter of divorce and the necessity of 
having an heir to succeed him'. On 
16 Dec. of this year (1809) the French 
Senate pronounced the divorce of N. 
and the Empress Jo'sephine. 

Stokoe, John (1775 - 1852).— 
Naval surgeon; entered the English 
service at the age of nineteen, was 
present at the battles of Copenhagen 
and Trafalgar, and in 1817 was in the 
Conquerant on the St. Helena station. 
He was presented to N. by O'Meara, 
became concerned in a matter of 
clandestine correspondence with Long- 
wood, and in Jan. 181 9 paid several 
professional visits to N. Later in the 
same year he went to England on 
leave, and was received with apparent 
friendliness by Sir Pulteney Malcolm 
and others, but on returning to the 
station he was court-martialled for 
dereliction of duty and dismissed the 
service. Stokoe, though undoubtedly 
indiscreet, seems to have been harshly 
treated. 

His memoirs were found in the pos- 
session of one of his great-grand- 
nieces, Miss Edith Stokoe, by M. Paul 
Fremeaux, and edited by him. Miss 
Stokoe translated his notes thereon 
under the title With Napoleon at St. 
Helena (London, 1902). The original 
narrative abounds in fresh details, 
but by reason of its diffuseness, long 
digressions and many repetitions Fre- 
meaux found it necessary to tell the 
story in his own words, though faith- 
fully following the memoirist. 



403 



STOUTNESS 

Stoutness, Napoleon's. — It is a 

curious fact that exercise tended ta 
increase N.'s girth, despite the doc- 
tor's contention that his devotion to 
hot baths was the real cause. In his 
letters to Josephine he remarks this 
in several instances, as in Oine dated 
13 Oct. 1806 (the day before Jena and 
Auerstadt), where he says : " I have 
already put on flesh since my depar- 
ture, yet I am doing- in person twenty 
and twenty-five leagues a day, on 
horseback, in my carriage, in all sorts 
of ways. I lie down at eight and get 
up at midnight." Again, writing on 
16 Oct., three days later, he says: 
"... fatigues, bivouacs and night- 
watches have made me fat." The 
Austerlitz campaign had the same 
effect on N., who was amused at the 
tendency. In a letter to Count Miot 
de Melito he makes a remarkable 
prophecy. It is dated 30 Jan. 1806, 
and N. says: "The campaign I have 
just terminated, the movement, the 
excitement, have made me fat. I 
believe that if all the kings of Europe 
were to coalesce against me I should 
have a ridiculous paunch." And his 
stoutness at the time of Elba and St. 
Helena was a favourite theme in the 
hands of the heavy and coarse carica- 
turiists of that period. 

Strategy. — It is from the corres- 
pondence of N., as well as from the 
original orders published by the section 
of Military History of the French 
General Staff, that we glean most of 
our impressions or notions regarding 
his stand as a strateg^ist. We say 
"notions" advisedly, for despite the 
numerous works that have appeared 
on the subject, the lack of complete 
documentary evidence regarding it 
leaves the student somewhat short of 
verifiable material on which to base 
serious conclusions. But the aforesaid 
data throws siome considerable light on 
the military genius of N. His powers 
of organization and determination can, 
of course, be studied and analysed 
from' an examination of other sources, 
but his strategic and tactical abilities 
are more obscure. 

Although in youth greatly engrossed 
in political studies, N. by no means 
neglected his military education, for if 
he was not busied whilst at Brienne in 



STRATEGY 

abstruse mathematical studies with a 
bearing on military science, he was 
perusing the works of those ancient 
authors whose writings are full of the 
glamour of battle. In them^ he read 
largely concerning the greatest com- 
bats of antiquity, of great defences, 
great retreats, forlorn hopes, and the 
occupancy of the enemy's country in 
the antique style. He had also come 
under the influence of men of real 
ability, such as Bois Roger and the 
Baron du Teil, from whom he re- 
ceived a sound training in artillery 
and fortifications. Up to the date of 
Marengo, however, it is difficult to 
trace anything new-fangled, so to 
speak, in N.'s methods, or, to put 
it differently, he had S'O thoroughly 
mastered the method of his time that 
it held no secrets for him. His energy 
and activity, too, assisted him power- 
fully. He was everywhere during a 
campaign. At Toulon, for example, 
though merely sous-officier, he was 
practically in command by virtue of 
superior ability and personal force. 

But his military mental equipment 
was rapidly unfolding, and, like all 
great officers who are also practical 
masters of their subject, he began to 
search for new expedients. Thus in 
1805 he instituted the practice of 
throwing out a screen of cavalry with 
the object of securing reliable informa- 
tion concerning the enemy's country; 
but this did not solve his difficulty — 
the cavalry he used were efficient from 
thie point of view of observation, but 
they could not remain in the positions 
in which they found themselves as 
scouts. Again, although horsemen 
who are far in front of an army can 
provide reliable information concern- 
ing what happened at a certain hour, 
they cannot be expected to give details 
of what may come to pass a couple of 
days later, when they have fallen back 
upon the rnain force. The difficulty 
was a considerable, nay, even a great 
one, but a great remedy was at hand. 
If your cavalry find it necessary to fall 
back two days' march to report it 
will take you four days to^ get your 
main body in touch with the enemy, 
whose movements they have reported 
upon. Therefore the best you can do' 
is to have your cavalry closely followed 



404 



STRATEGY 

by a g-eneral advance-guard of all 
arms. By doing- sq you will hold and 
fix the enemy in the position in which 
they were first found by the cavalry. 
That is, you send on a sufficiency of 
troops on the heels of your cavalry to 
make it imperative for the enemy to 
remain where they are for the purpose 
of observing your advance-guard. Of 
course, N. did not stumble upon this 
military axiom' (for his day) all at 
once. Indeed, on several occasions 
he departed from, it shortly after he 
had first devised it, and it is notice- 
able that on each of these occasions 
the enemy succeeded in avoiding himi. 
We find the complete form of the 
manoeuvre at Friedland, and after that 
on practically every battlefield of the 
Napoleonic era. If it ever fails it is 
because of the hesitation of the Em- 
peror to utilize it, as, for example, 
at Borodino. All the same, N. never 
seems to have laid it down as an axiomi 
either to his commanders or to any- 
one else. It seems, indeed, as if luck, 
the goddess which led him' so high, 
had placed this manoeuvre in his way. 
Dresden was one of the last battlefields 
on which .he employed it, and after 
that he appears to have returned to 
the type of strategy which he had him- 
self destroyed. The condition of his 
health had, of course, a simply enor- 
mous influence upon his military for- 
tunes. Whenever he was in ill health 
he seem,s toi have reverted to the text- 
book strategy of his youthful days. 
His effervescing brilliancy appears to 
have suddenly and entirely quitted 
him, and until his bodily condition 
improves he is merely an ordinary 
general. We must also not discount 
the wonderful abilities and courage of 
the great men by whom he was sur- 
rounded. With such officers and such 
men it would have been wonderful 
indeed had he been anything but suc- 
cessful in the majority of his cam- 
paigns. We are astonished sometimes 
to observe the poverty of his logic 
when he attempts, as he did at St. 
Helena, to give us reasons for his 
many victories. From a military point 
of view these reasons are laughable, 
many of themi, and one can scarcely 
credit that N. was serious when he 
uttered them. It would seem, indeed. 



STRATEGY 

as if N.'s strategic faculty emanated 
from the supernormal mind. In great 
moments of strain he seems to have 
been possessed of that mental exalta- 
tion which only true genius can know 
and which leads to rapid and super- 
human comprehension of the condi- 
tions to which it must apply itself. 
It is not calculation, it is not strategy 
— it is inspiration ! 

Another great source of N.'s power 
was his marvellous and inexorable 
will. Lesser reasons were his know- 
ledge and mastery of the tactical 
potentialities of the weapons of his 
day, his intimate comprehension of 
the men who followed him, and the 
wonderful psychological power he 
wielded over them. In these gifts all 
the great captains of his own day, and 
incidentally of other days, were greatly 
inferiior to him — Hannibal, perhaps, 
alone excepted. 

The most noteworthy characteristic 
of the wars against Austria is the 
series of baffling attacks by which N. 
threw the soldiers of that monarchy 
back intoi the Alps, defeating all their 
attempts to break out again. This 
manoeuvre was chiefly successful be- 
cause of the mobility he managed to 
impart to his forces, thus bewildering 
and obfuscating his enemy. We often, 
however, find himi advancing to meet 
hisi foes on a widely extended front, 
without even taking the trouble to 
explore the country before him or to 
discover what the strength of his ad- 
versary was. This was certainly the 
case with his first war with Prussia. 
Then, as above mentioned, he adopted 
the cavalry screen, and later, as has 
been said, the advance-guard behind 
it. Later the whole commandi was so 
disposed that no matter in what direc- 
tion the enemy might appear it could 
concentrate in forty-eight hours to 
meet them. But this manoeuvre was 
subject to the enemy remaining at one 
point to receive the shock of battle. 
This it was the special object of the 
advance-guard tO' secure, and such 
strategy, of course, involved a strong 
offensive. The advance-guard was, in 
fact, fighting against time. A great 
error was the lack of studiousness in 
matters of commissariat. To neglect 
the commissariat was perhaps possible 



405 



STRATEGY 

where a square mile of invaded terri- 
tory would maintain i,ooo men for a 
couple of days, but when the imperial 
army marched into the hinterland of 
roadless and desolate Poland and East 
Prussia discipline was on the wane. 
Want of food meant loss of condi- 
tion, and therefore loss of time on the 
march. The personnel of the supply 
columns was untrained. In short, 
want of proper provision in this respect 
threw the entire army as a weapon out 
of gear. The advance-gfuard system 
was found under these conditions to 
be hopelessly at fault. It is passing- 
strange that N. should not have turned 
his mind to the solution of the com- 
missariat problem before entering, for 
example, on the Russian campaign. 

N. commenced his military career 
with a wonderful infantry, which, 
however, through decimation and 
other causes, steadily deteriorated. 
On the other hand, the quality of the 
troops of his enemies had been im- 
proving under the fostering sentiment 
of nationality. They had, further- 
more, attained to a co'miplete under- 
standing of French tactics, so that 
they knew exactly upon what system 
they would be attacked. Their en- 
durance also was greater than before, 
because of the inculcation of more per- 
fect discipline. With these conditions 
to face, N. realized that he must fall 
back upO'n the artillery army and on 
the old idea of his teacher, du Teil, 
of concentration of a destructive ele- 
ment on a decisive point. That is, 
that as artillery was often concen- 
trated upon a fortress with the object 
of making a breach, so might it be 
co'ncentrated upon the weak spot lin an 
army for the same purpose. Through 
this breach the assaulting columns 
can penetrate to the heart of the 
enemy's position. Years of experience 
had taught him how to increase the 
mobility of his field artillery, and it 
was now possible to briing up masses 
of guns to close range and to pour in 
a concentrated fire upon the enemy's 
columns. Through the gap thus 
created infantry or cavalry, or both, 
poured to destroy the reserves in the 
fear of the defence. Thus the ad- 
vance-guard fixed the enemy's atten- 
tion, the artillery delivered the great 



STRATEGY 

blow, and the infantry completed its 
work. This method necessitated care- 
ful judgment regarding the endurance 
of the troops first engaged — that is, 
of the personnel of the advance-guard 
— and lit was this in which N. shone 
particularly, for he was able to esti- 
mate their endurance so positively that 
he was rarely at fault regarding this 
manoeuvre, and, indeed, it may be said 
to have rendered him' supreme upon 
the battlefield. At the same time, the 
reiteration of this plan ended in his 
ruin, for in 1813 he wore out his troops 
with the demands he made upon them 
in this connexion. In the campaign 
of 1813 N. showed himself a strategist 
pure and simple. The diplomatic idea 
appears to have been far from^ his 
mind, and throughout he acted more 
as a general in command of an army 
than as a monarch with a crown and 
kingdom^ to lo'se. In the defensive 
campaign of 1814 again he was purely 
the diplomat, hia primary object being 
the breaking off of relatioins between 
his allied enemies. 

N.'s attempts to justify his strategy 
are perhaps as luminous as those of 
Edgar Allan Poe to explain to us how 
he wrote his poetry. That a system 
of poetics exists as truly as does a 
system of strategy is undoubted, but 
when a genius appears in either 
sphere he can well afford to ignoire 
"rules and regulations." Thus N.'s 
explanations of how he fought his 
battles have about as great a veri- 
similitude as have those of Poe when 
he penned his famous essay on the 
manner in which he wrote The Raven. 
The feats of intuitional genius cannot 
be explained away. Under the stress 
of excitement and inspiration men 
achieve things in what manner they 
know not, and this well applies to 
N.'s victories. He well knew that 
in Europe there existed several 
strategical schools with a knowledge 
of tactical science, and erudition and 
an appreciation of those political 
factors which sway all strategical 
theory, compared to the students of 
which he was no more than an equal, 
and in some cases even an inferior. 
But to none of these men, erudite as 
they might be in their sdience, was it 
given to reach the white heat of mental 



406 



STRATEGY 

activity which captures inSipiration as 
it was with N. Of these pedants N. 
stood greatly in awe, and therefore 
once leisure was vouchsafed him^ he 
addressed himself tO' the task of ex- 
plaining his exploits in terms which 
they could oo'mprehend. What he 
seemed to be most in fear of was that 
his military reputationi would stand or 
fall by their utterances. Of that he 
did not need tO' be afraid, for posterity 
doesi not judg'e generals sO' much by 
their adherence to text-book rules as 
by the results they have achieved, and 
the more dramatic the results the more 
g"loirious the memory of the captain 
whoi has achieved them;. Hei was also 
in no little dread that he was criticized 
for his frequent departure from estab- 
lished practice, such as a neg'lect of 
communicationsi and the acceptance of 
tooi g'reat risks. Toi defeat such criti- 
cism in advance he described the care 
he had devoted to his communications 
in the Mareng-O' campaig-n at Auster- 
litz, Wagram, and Dresden. But for 
co'mmunications he cared little, and 
recked not of risk. The spirit which 
appears tO' have inspired him thr0'Ug"h- 
cut his career was that which he 
voiced ere setting' out on his Italian 
campaign. " Doi experienced generals 
opipose me?" he said. "So much the 
better. Then will I make them' burn 
their books and know not what to doi." 
But it would be unjust tO' assert 
that his campaigns were unprepared 
— and as absurd as it would be unjust, 
for they were organized with a meticu- 
lous carefulness that left noi loop-hole 
to chance ; only, the ideas framed in 
this org-anization were by no means 
adhered to in all cases : that is, 
whenever by a lightning'-like stroke 
of intuition N. discerned that he could 
better his poisition, his early plans 
were instantly chang-ed for the better. 
Moreover, he admitted military rules 
based on common sense and the ex- 
perience of centuries, but when he saw 
fit he was not afraid to break those 
fundamentals. In his converse with 
his marshals and his leaders he 
seems to have recognized these rules 
as having- been understanded by all 
andi therefore unnecessary of explana- 
tion. So steeped was he in strategfy, 
both scholastic and practical, that just 



SUCHET 

as men of business use abbreviated 
terms in their conversation with one 
another, or otherwise ignore the 
obvious, SO' did he and those imme- 
diately beneath him ig-nore it ; it was the 
outstanding that occupied his attention, 
not the usual. It is also noteworthy 
that, although ^many of his g-reatest 
leaders wrote at length on the subject 
of his campaig-ns, that none of them 
betrayed a knowledge of what was 
really the secret of his successes. 

One of N.'s greatest military assets 
was undoubtedly his sense of mobility. 
In the end it was this which contri- 
buted to his ruin — the men were wxsrn 
out, and on certain campaigns where 
marching was the order of the day, 
they were wont to say : " Our Emperor 
has decreed that on this campaign we 
shall fight with our legs rather than 
with our arms." This mobility his 
enemies constantly failed to under- 
stand. At the end of a twenty-five 
miles' march, executed in a day, his 
entire army would hurl itself upon 
the enemy, which vainly thought it 
was at least seven to ten leagues 
away. Again, he would send a de- 
tachment against one column toi pur- 
chase time by the sacrifice of its men's 
lives, and would then strike at the 
other with the bulk of his forces. 
Most of his earlier successes were won 
by this method, and it became so 
well known at last that when in 1813, 
around Dresden, he tried tO' put it into 
force the Allied column which he thus 
threatened retreated before him, whilst 
another continued its advance. This 
compelled him tO' return to^ assist his 
detaining detachment, which could not 
struggle on against much greater 
numbers. 

As has been said, his health had an 
immense bearing on N.'s strategic 
powers, and indispO'sition was usually 
a prelude to disaster and defeat. 
Had his strategic genius, therefore, 
been purely theoretical in oirigin, 
bodily infirmity could scarcely have 
caused its complete failure, and this 
almo'st amounts to proof that N.'s 
victories were won solely by dint of 
intuitional genius. 

Submarine.— S'ee Fulton, Robert. 

Suchet, Louis Gabriel, Due d' 
Albufera da Valencia (1770-1826).— 



407 



SUCHET 

Marshal of France. Was the son of 
a Lyonnais silk manufacturer. Dur- 
ing- the Revolutionary period he en- 
listed as a volunteer in tlie cavalry of 
the national guard in his native city, 
and his ability soon secured him a com- 
mission. At the siege of Toulon he 
distinguished himself by taking 
General O'Hara prisoner. Severely 
wounded at the battle of Cerea (Oct. 1 1 
1796), during the Italian campaign, he 
was appointed to the command of a 
demi-brigade about a year later, and 
served under Joubert in the Tyrol in 
that year, and under Brune in Switzer- 
land in the campaign of 1797-8, with 
such acceptance that he was promoted 
to the rank of chief of brigade. He 
then assisted in the reorganization of 
the army in Italy. In 1799 he was 
made general of division, and became 
Joubert's chief of staff in Italy, and in 
the following- year Massena nominated 
him his second in coimmand. As 
leader of the left wing of Massena's 
army, he opposed the superior Austrian 
forces, with which he had to contend 
at a time when the bulk of his chief's 
army was shut up in Genoa, and with 
such marked skill that he unquestion- 
ably saved France from invasion and 
helped to make possible N.'s passage 
across the Alps. He also figured 
prominently in the Italian campaign 
until the armistice of Trevisoi. During 
the campaigns of 1805 and 1806 
against Prussia, Austria, and Russia, 
he distinguished himself at Austerlitz, 
Saalfeld, Jena, and Pultusk, was 
created count in March 1808, and 
married Mile, de Saint-Joseph, a niece 
of Joseph Bonaparte's wife. Shortly 
afterwards he was dispatched to- Spain, 
where after taking part in the siege of 
Saragossa, he was placed in charge of 
the army of Aragon, becoming- 
governor of that province. Through 
his administrative ability and just deal- 
ing he succeeded in bringing the pro- 
vince under his care intoi complete sub- 
mission in the short space of two years. 
Meeting the army of Blake at Maria 
on 14 June 1809, he inflicted upon it a 
disastrous reverse, destroying it 
almost completely, and In April of the 
following year he defeated O'Donnell 
at Lerida. In 181 1 he was created a 
marshal of France, and in 1812 con- 



SUICIDE 

quered the province of Valencia, from 
which he received the title of Due 
d'Albufera da Valencia. When disaster 
threatened the French arms in Spain 
he made a most effective resistance, 
but eventually he was compelled to 
retire intO' France, and assisted 
Soult in his defensive campaij^n. 
Louis XVIII. made him. a peer of 
France, but during- the Waterloo cam- 
paign he commanded one of N.'s 
armies on the Alpine frontier, and was 
deprived of his titles. He lived till 
3 Jan. 1826, when he died near Mar- 
seilles. He wrote an unfinished 
volume of memoirs on the subject of 
the Peninsular War, which was edited 
by his former chief of staff, Baron St. 
Cyr-Naqu^s. 

Suicide, N.'s Attempt at. — On 
the nigfht of 11 April 1814, the night 
of his renunciation of the throne, N. 
attempted suicide at Fontainebleau. 
The details concerning this circum- 
stance are obscure, and the best 
description of lit is that of Constant, 
who was present in the palace at the 
time. He says : " I hope that there is 
no need for me to make a protest of 
my truthfulness. I have too deep a 
sense of the importance of such a re- 
velation tO' allow myself tO' cut away 
or to add the slightest detail bearing 
on the actual facts. These I intend 
to recount just as they happened, just 
as I witnessed them, just as in all their 
dire significance they are graven on 
my memory. 

"On the evening of 11 April I un- 
dressed the Emperor as usual. He 
had retired toi rest rather earlier that 
night, for, if I remember rightly, it 
was not quite half-past ten. On 
going to bed he seemed in rather better 
spirits. I slept in a small room above 
that of the Emperor, with which it was 
connected by a private staircase. For 
some time past I had been careful to 
sleep in my clothes so as to answer 
His Majesty's summons with greater 
promptitude. At midnight, when 
sleeping soundly, I was awakened by 
M. Pelard, who was on duty. He told 
me that the Emperor had asked for 
me, and, on opening my eyes, I saw 
how horror-struck he looked. I leapt 
out of bed, and as we hurried down the 
staircase M, Pelard added, * The Em- 



408 



SUICIDE 

peror bas dissolved something- in a 
glass and has drunk it. ' 

"I entered His Majesty's room a 
prey to the most ag'onizing' fears. He 
had gone back to bed, but on the floor 
near the chimney-piece I noticed the 
fragments of a sachet of leather and 
black silk. ... It was, in fact, the 
talisman which, ever since the 
Egyptian campaign, he wore round his 
neck, and which I used to keep so' 
carefully for bim during the interval 
between one campaign and another. 
Ah ! could I only have known what it 
contained ! In this fatal instant the 
whole dreadful truth became plain to 
me ! 

"As I stood by the Emperor's bed- 
side he gasped out, ' Constant, I am 
dying ! I could not bear the torture 
any longer, and, above all, the 
humiliation of seeing myself sur- 
rounded by foreign agents. They 
have trailed my eagles through the 
mire ! They have misjudged me ! 
But, my good Constant, they will be 
sorry when I am gone. Marmont has 
given ime my final blow. Unhappy 
man ! I was fond of him ! That 
Berthier should have forsaken me cuts 
me to the core ! My old friends ! My 
comrades in arms ! ' . . . The Em- 
peror said several other things to me, 
which I hesitate to repeat, since it is 
impossible for me to give his actual 
words. In such an awful moment of 
suspense, however, I could not rightly 
engrave these upon my memory. As I 
watched his face intently I noticed con- 
vulsive twitchings, the symptoms of a 
crisis, which terrified me. Slight 
vomiting, however, gave me grounds 
for hope. The Emperor, despite his 
physical and mental suffering, never 
lost his nerve. After the first vomit- 
ing bout, he said to me, * Constant, 
send for Caulaincourt and Yvan.' 

"I half opened the door in order to 
tell M. Pelard without quitting the Em- 
peror's room. On going back to his 
bedside I begged him to take a sooth- 
ing potion, but all my efforts were 
vain ; he refused to do so, such was his 
firm resolve to die, which never 
wavered now, when death was so 
near. 

" Despite his obstinate refusal I con- 
tinued my entreaties, when M. de 



SUICIDE 

Caulaincourt and Dr. Yvan entered. 
His Majesty made a sign to the former 
to approach the bed, and said : 

" ' Caulaincourt, I confide my wife 
and my child to" your care ; serve them, 
as you have served me. I have not 
long to live ! ' 

"Then His Majesty had another 
attack of vomiting, though less severe 
than the first. Meanwhile I tried to 
tell M. de Caulaincourt that the Em- 
peror had taken poison. He seemed 
to catch my meaning, half-expressed 
though it was, for sobs choked my 
utterance. Dr. Yvan approached, and 
the Emperor said to him : 

Do you think the dose was strong 
enough? ' 

" Such words were an enigma to M. 
Yvan, as, sO' far as I can gather, he 
had never known of the existence of 
the sachet, so he replied : 

" ' I do not understand what your 
Majesty means.' 

" The Emperor made no answer. 

"All three of us, after much per- 
suasion, induced His Majesty tO' take 
some tea. Yet even when I brought himi 
some, made in a great hurry, he pushed 
the cup aside, and said : * Leave me 
alone. Constant, do ! ' After drinking 
thlis tea the vomitings ceased, and he 
soon seemed easier. He dropped off 
into a doze, when the two gentle- 
men went softly out of the room, 
whiile I sat there waiting for him 
to wake. 

"After a sleep of some hours the 
Emperor woke, and seemed almost in 
his usual health, although his face bore 
traces of all that he had suffered. 
While I helped him to dress he never 
made the slightest allusion, directly or 
indirectly, to the fearful night we had 
just spent. He breakfasted in the 
ordinary way, only somewhat later 
than usual. He had completely re- 
gained his composure, and he seemed 
in better spirits than for long past. 
Was this due to his contentment at 
having escaped the death for which, in 
a moiment of dejectiom, he longed? Or 
was it not rather because he now felt 
certain that death would not reach him 
whieni in bed, but only when on the 
battlefield? However that may be, I 
attribute the Emperor's providential 
escape to the fact that the poison 



409 



SWEDEN 

contained in the sachet had lost its 
efficacy. 

"When thing's had resumed their 
normal course without anyone in the 
palace, except those named, getting to 
knoiw that anything" had occurred, I 
heard that Dr. Yvan had quitted 
Fontainebleau. Distressed at the 
question which the Emperor, in the 
presence of M. de Caulaincourt, had 
asked him, and fearing- that he might 
be suspected of having supplied N. 
with the means of taking- his own life, 
this able physician, who had for so 
long faithfully served the Emperor, 
lost his head, as it were, when con- 
templating the responsibility which, as 
he thought, weighed upon him. 
Hastening from the Emperor's room, 
he found a horse ready saddled and 
bridled in one of the palace court-yards. 
He leapt on to it and galloped off to 
Paris. On the morning of the same 
day Roustan left Fontainebleau." 

Sweden. — The eastern portion of 
the Scandinavian Peninsula, joined to^ 
the Russian Empire at the north-east 
by a frontier of over 300 miles. Until 
the middle of the eighteenth century 
Sweden had been one of the great 
powers of Europe, but by the time of 
the death of Gustavus HI. her im- 
portance was on the wane. During 
the Napoleonic era two sovereigns 
ruled her people: Gustavus IV. (1792- 
1809), with Reuterholm as virtual 
ruler; and Charles XHI. (1809-19), 
with Bernadotte (q-v.) as Crown 
Prince and true head. 

French revolutionary policy found 
many sympathizers amongst the 
Swedes, and the new French Republic 
was recognized ; but Sweden's secret 
negotiations for an alliance were dis- 
countenanced and overruled by the 
other European powers. She did 
not take part in the early stages of 
the Napoleonic struggle, but she 
was a member of the Second Armed 
Neutrality (q-v.), formed in 1800 
against Great Britain. Her monarch, 
Gustavus IV., however, was a bitter 
opponent of the Republic and Empire, 
and his feelings of hatred against N. 
were greatly increased by the arrest 
and execution of the Due d'Enghien 
(q.v.). He hoped and worked for the 
restoration of the Bourbons, and was 



SWEDEN 

one of the first to join the European, 
Coalition against N. in 1804, pledging 
Sweden to join Russia and England 
in ridding Holland and Hanover of 
their French invaders. 

N., on his part, reciprocated Gus- 
tavus's feelings, and his dislike of the 
despotic Swedish royal house was in- 
tensified by its action in joining the 
Coalition. After the battle of Jena, 
however, attempts were made by N. 
to conciliate Sweden, but without suc- 
cess, and Prussia was incited toi make 
war on her, which resulted in the loss 
of Pomerania. In Feb. 1808 N, wrote 
to the Tsar quietly suggesting the in- 
vasion of Sweden, and a few months 
later Russia sent a force across the 
border, which met with little success, 
N. failing toi send his promised aid. 
Finland offered a strong resistance, 
but in November they gave in, upon 
certain conditions, and obtained their 
first charter of freedom from the 
Tsar. 

As a result of the loss of Finland 
Gustavus was deposed, and the duke 
regent was proclaimed king as Charles 
XIII. under N.'s protection. A treaty 
was entered intoi whereby N. gave 
Pomerania tO' Sweden, while in return 
she promised to adopt the Continental 
System and import nothing but salt — 
an aid to^ N.'s schemes toi crush British 
commerce. In May 1810, the King 
being old and childless, the French 
marshal, Bernadotte, was elected heir 
apparent to the Swedish throne. This 
step aroused some alarm amongst the 
antagonists of N., but needlessly, as 
Bernadotte was not on good terms 
with N., and the latter's consent to 
his election had been given unwillingly 
— events proving his distrust to be 
justified. Owing to the infirmity of 
Charles, Bernadotte, who was now 
known as the Crown Prince Charles 
John, gathered practically all the reins 
of government into his hands. He 
abandoned the idea of recovering Fin- 
land, and directed his attention to the 
acquisition of Norway. He first tried 
to gain this end through N., but later 
he met with more success in Russia. 
Meanwhile the Swedish people were 
feeling uneasy under the yoke of N., 
and on the occupation of Pomerania 
in 1 81 2 by French troops Sweden 



410 



SWISS 

entered into a secret treaty with 
Russia, wherebj she promised to send 
30,000 troops agfainst N. in Germany 
in return for Norway. Too late N. 
realized his mistake, and offered 
Sweden not only Pomeranlia but 
Mecklenbergf ; but Bernadotte refused 
his overtures and joined the Coalition, 
promising- toi send men and in effect 
rendering- several important services to 
the Allies. After the battle of Leipsic 
Bernadotte moved hi si troopsi north in 
order to carry out his designs 00 Nor- 



SWISS 

under Championnet easily accounted 
for this rabble, but on the opening- 
of the war proper the Directory found 
itself in bad case as regards men and 
munitions. Twenty -four thousand of 
its troops under Brune entered Hol- 
land ; Jourdan with 46,000 marched 
on the Upper Rhine ; Mass6na in Swit- 
zerland had 30,000 men, toi his credit; 
and Scherer in the north of Italy 
had 60,000 troops. The command of 
Championnet' s army ini southern Italy 
had been taken over by Macdonald. 




way, and finally succeeded in bringing 
about the union with Norway (14 Nov. 
1814). Sweden was represented at the 
Congress of Vienna. 

Swfiss Campaign (1799).— While 
N. was in Egypt in 1798 the powers 
of Europe (Russia, Austria, Great 
Britain, Turkey, Portugal, Naples, 
and the Papal States) formed what 
was known as the Second Coalition 
against France. They had been irri- 
tated by the Treaty of Campo' Formio, 
and the launching of a Neapolitan 
army into the Roman states precipi- 
tated hostilities. The French troops 



The general plan of campaign was to 
take the offensive. About Constance 
and Schaffhausen, Jourdan with his 
comparatively small force had to face 
the Archduke Charles with about 80,000 
men. Concentrating his army, the arch- 
duke drove him back to Stockach, but 
rather unwisely extending his force 
while Jourdan concentrated his, the 
French general was thus enabled to 
commence the battle of Stockach on 
25 March 1799 with a superior force, 
and it was only late in the afternoon 
that the archduke succeeded in bring- 
ing up sufficient men toi crush him. 



411 



SWISS 

He failed, however, toi follow up his 
victory by a cavalry pursuit, which 
in view of his great preponderance in 
horsemen he might well have done. 

The role of Massena in Switzerland 
was tO' act in the manner of a flank- 
guard to the main army on the Rhine. 
In the Grison district the Austrians 
under Hotze and Auffenberg had about 
20,000 men, with other 6,000 scat- 
tered throughout the country. Con- 
centrating against Auffenberg 7,000 
men, Massena crossed the Rhine and 
within three days cut up Auffenberg 's 
division, whilst Oudinot held off Hotze 
at Feldkirch. Massena attacked Feld- 
kirch about a fortnight later with 
15,000 men, but was repulsed. The 
Austrian general, Bellegarde, was 
stationed in the Tyrol with about 
47,000 men. He was acting there 
as a kind of reserve toi the Arch- 
duke Charles. Massena, detaching 
Lecourbe and Dessoiles from the 
Army of Italy, himself followed the 
first-mentioned general, whoi marched 
by way of the San Bernadinoi pass into 
the Spliigen valley, and thence intoi 
the Upper Engadine. He was met by 
Loudon withi a small Austrian force, 
but the Tyrolese came to Loudon's 
assistance, and Lecourbe found him- 
self attacked on both sides. He was 
able to hold his position, however, 
until Dessoiles came up on the other 
side of Loudon, who if he had cared 
could have taken the two forces in 
detail ; but they were too quick foT 
hiim., attacked Mm on both flanks, and 
defeated him, with the loss of 6,000 
men and sixteen guns captured. There 
was a lull in the operations after this, 
and an illnessi of the archduke did not 
assist Austrian affairs. 

The defeated French under Jourdan 
were now in the noirthern part of 
Switzerland, the centre between Chur 
and Mayenfeld and the right in the 
Tyrol. Suvarov's work in Italy had 
soi assisted the Austrian dispositions 
that Dessoiles' column, now under 
the command of Loison, was forced 
back, as was Lecourbe retreating 
before Bellegarde. He was also 
menaced by Hotze, and it was with 
difficulty that he succeeded in eluding 
capture. The French had now been 
forced into the interior of Switzerland, 



SWISS 

after which feat Bellegarde and Hotze 
saw fit to break up their coalition, 
Bellegarde marching to join Suvarov, 
and Hotze toi assist the archduke, who 
now recommenced operations. About 
the middle of May the archduke and 
Hotze, withi forces numbering about 
90,000 men, occupied the two' ends 
of Lake Constance. They had so 
generously reinforced their flanks at 
the expense of their main bodies that 
both had under immediate command 
only about 55,000 men. Crossing the 
Rhine, they began to attempt to get 
into contact with each other. Mas- 
sena retired before Hotze, and when 
the latter and the archduke had 
effected a junction they succeeded in 
dislodging the French general from 
a position on the Toiss, driiving him 
back until he prepared himself at 
Zurich, where he entrenched the 
25,000 men immediately under his 
command in a position five miles in 
length. The Austrians precipitated a 
frontal attack with far too few men, 
having squandered the balance of 
their preponderating force upon their 
flanks. Their attack on Massena's 
position failed, but Massena, distrust- 
ing local conditions, retired of his own 
accord. The archduke did not press 
him, as he was awaiting a Russian 
army of 30,000 men under Korsakov. 
Another lull followed until Massena 
resumed active operations. Lecourbe 
had been reinforced considerably, and 
attacked the enemy's left wing. On 
14 Aug. he attacked and drove back 
the Austrian line from the St, Gothard 
toi the Linth, with the loss of 8,000 
men and many guns. The Austrians 
simultaneously attempted to force the 
passage of the Aar, but completely 
failed toi do soi. At this juncture the 
archduke was instructed by the Aulic 
Council to proceed with the bulk of 
his forces to the Upper Rhine, and 
matters in Switzerland were now left 
to Hotze and Korsakov. It was also 
arranged that Suvarov should operate 
in Switzerland. At this time Mas- 
sena's command was distributed fromi 
the Simplon to Basel along a tor- 
tuous front to the lower part of which 
Suvarov was likely to advance. But 
encountering Korsakov on 25 Sept. at 
Zurich, Massena completely defeated 



412 



SWITZERLAND 

him, with the loss of 8,000 men, many 
prisoners and 100 guns, sO' that at the 
moment of Suvarov's approach the 
Allies had beg"un toi fall back. On 
the 24th Suvarov took Airolo and 
prepared to storm St. Gothard, much 
to the dismay of his troops, who only 
reached the summit after twelve 
hours' hard fig-hting-. Pushing" on, he 
threatened Lecourbe's rear, who, also 
pressed in front, threw his guns into 
the river, and, marching across swamps, 
furiously attacked those troops who 
cut off his line of retreat. His rear- 
guard held the Devil's Bridge, which 
had been broken to prevent the 
Russian advance, and this the Mus- 
covites attempted to force, suffering 
terrible losses in the operations. They 
managed, however, to effect a turning 
movement, repaired the bridge, and 
joined the Austrians near Lecourbe's 
point of attack. Reacliing Altdorf, 
Suvarov found Lecourbe strongly 
posted. He could not cross the Lake 
of the Four Cantons for want of 
boats, and the condition of the east- 
ern shore entirely prohibited the pas- 
sage of troops. There was no'thling for 
it in view of Lecourbe's position but 
toi follow the precipitous bridle path 
leading over the Kinzig pass intO' 
MuO'tta Thai. For three days did the 
Russian Army in single file skirt this 
dangerous road, many of them falling 
intoi the precipice underneath, and 
harassed by the fire of the enemy, whoi 
were now in pursuit. When he arrived 
at Muotta Thai, Suvarov heard that 
Korsakov's army had been roughly 
handled. The French were now 
gathering around him on all sides. 
He had now only 15,000 men toi his 
credit, and, struggling on over one 
pass after another, at last reached 
Ilanz on 8 Oct. The Archduke 
Charles, hearing of Suvarov's condi- 
tion, brought over a corps fro'm the 
Neckar, and an effort was made toi 
so combine the forces that further 
operations could be made against 
Massena. But the archduke and the 
Russian veteran did not see eye to 
eye with one ano'ther. This practic- 
ally closed the campaign, as it did 
the military career of the great Rus- 
sian leader. 

Switzerland. —Switzerland, though 



SWITZERLAND 

small and politically insignificant, was 
a country whose strategical importance 
was early recognized both by France 
and by her enemies. The principles 
of the Revolution had already pene- 
trated Switzerland and swept away the 
old feudal conditions when the atten- 
tions of the First Consul were directed 
thitherwards. The ancient federation 
of thirteen cantons had given place to 
the Helvetic Republic, wherein civil 
equality and religious toleration were 
the order of the day, while an Hel- 
vetian club in France incited rebellion 
in the tributary states and sowed 
broadcast the doctrines of the Revolu- 
tion. Nevertheless, the bulk of the 
population remained strongly anti- 
Jaoobin., offering hospitality to many 
fugitives from France. N., who had 
satisfied himself that he might expect 
some support, saw in this an oppor- 
tunity for his intervention. French 
troops were sent to Vaud and the 
Bernese Jura, and ere long (in March 
1798) Switzerland was completely 
do'minated by French military leaders, 
whoi, notwithstanding that they had 
bound themselves to protect the Swiss, 
treated the country shamefully, loot- 
ing arsenal and treasure-house, and 
imposing huge levies of men and 
money. A constitution drawn up by 
General Brune, partitioning the 
country into three republics, lasted 
only seven days, and was succeeded 
by another, drawn up by a leader of 
the Swiss revolutionary party, Peter 
Ochs of Basel. This latter comprised 
a legislative body, composed of a 
Senate and Grand Council, and an 
Executive Committee of five members 
chosen by the legislature, and divided 
the country into^ twenty-three cantons, 
with a prefect at the head of each. 
The new Government was not accepted 
without a goo'd deal of bloodshed, 
especially in the mountain cantons, 
and not until the triumphs of Massena 
at Zurich did Switzerland give up the 
struggle for her freedom. Meanwhile 
France continued to drain the country 
of men and money, and works of public 
enterprise were impossible in the cir- 
cumstances. Such a state of things 
could not last ; the Government con- 
templated a coup d'etat, while the 
Federalists were busy with a scheme 



413 



SWITZERLAND 

of their own. Bonaparte, waiting- his 
chance to intervene, sided with neither 
party (though each had counted on his 
support), but favoured the Republi- 
cans, whose policy lay midway between 
these extremes. The Directory, called 
upon by its two' moderate members to 
dissolve, and refusing-, was dissolved 
by the twoi Councils, who provisionally 
appointed an Executive Committee. 
N. thereupon provided another con- 
stitution comprising; a legislative body 
of thirty-five members and an Execu- 
tive Council of seven members, which 
was accepted by Senate and Grand 
Council. The new Government, largely 
Republican, desired to reconstitute 
itself after the Frenchi model, but N., 
whoi had no> wish for a united Switzer- 
land, thrust upon the country the Con- 
stitution of Malmalison (May 1801). 
At the head of this constitution was 
the chief Landammann, or First 
Mag'istrate ; next to him came an 
executive Council of Four, a Diet of 
seventy-seven members, and a Senate 
of twenty-five ; while the country was 
divided into seventeen cantons, to 
some extent autonomous. This 
Government was pleasing tO' noi party, 
not even to N. himself. A propO'Sal 
made by the First Consul toi use parts 
of Switzerland for strateg^ical purposes 
was met by a declaration that the in- 
tegrity of Helvetian territory must be 
preserved. N., highly incensed, 
secretly planned a coup d'etat, whereby 
the Diet was dissolved, and the Con- 
stitution of Malmaison re-established 
with Aloys Reding, a Federalist, as 
Landammann. The latter, seeing that 
N. had withdrawn his support fromi 
the Federalists (it was ever the policy 
of the First Co^nsul to spread confusion 
in the country), appealed secretly to 
the other European Powers, where- 
upon N. pretended sympathy with the 
Republican Party, who forcibly im- 
posed on the country a revised version 
of the Constitution of Malmaison. A 
rising among- the peasants of Vaud 
ensued, and this N. met with a crafty 
stroke of policy — he withdrew all 
French troops from Switzerland. 
Then, when the trouble was at its 
height — ^when a federal state had been 
formed which threatened the overthrow 
of the Government — ^he appeared on 



SWITZERLAND 

the scene ag-ain as mediator, at the 
same time sending- intoi Swiss territory 
a force of 30,000 men under General 
Ney. Switzerland proimptly protested 
against this violation of her neutrality, 
g-uaranteed toi her by the Treaty of 
Luneville, and sent missions tO' Great 
Britain, Austria, and Prussia. Britain 
alone interfered on behalf of Swiss 
neutrality, and this among- other 
things led toi serious rupture with 
France. N., with the prospect of a 
European war before him, tightened 
his grasp on Switzerland because of 
its great strateg-ical importance. His 
Act of Mediation (1803), by which the 
Helvetic Republic became the Swiss 
Confederation, was a veritable coup de 
maitre, desigfned to satisfy both 
Federalists and Unionists, without 
g-iving- too much power tO' either, to 
g-ive peace and contentment to Swit- 
zerland, and yet leave her wholly de- 
pendent upon France. The Confedera- 
tion divided the country into nineteen 
cantons, grouped as urban cantons, 
rural cantons, and tho'se which had 
been tributary states. Each canton 
was g^iven sovereig^n po^vers and equal 
rights; each of the rural cantons had 
its landammann, Executive Council, 
Grand Council, and popular assembly ; 
the urban cantons had their chief 
magistrates, who governed with the 
aid of Senate, Council and Representa- 
tive Body ; while the third group had 
alsO' its councils and popular assem- 
blies. The seat of government was in 
six different cantons in successive 
years, the chief mag'istrate of each in 
turn being- landammann of Switzer- 
land. There was also a Federal Diet, 
comprising* nineteen deputies (one from 
each canton), which met for one month 
every year. The powers of the State 
were exceedingly restricted. It pos- 
sessed noi regular army, no funds 
wherewith tO' carry out public works, 
and was debarred from entering into 
diplomatic relations with any foreig-n 
power. Yet because it afforded some 
measure of peace after years of strife 
and confusion the people accepted the 
new order willing-ly enoug"h, and hailed 
N. as their deliverer. At the first 
meetings of the Diet (July 1803) France 
proposed a defensive alliance and 
military convention, which the Diet 



414 



SWITZERLAND 

had no choace but toi accept. Swiss 
troops were then called upon to fig"ht 
in the French service, but any attempt 
at military organization in Switzerland 
was disoouragfed by the Emperor. 
Duringf the years that followed the Act 
of Mediation, the country, famed for 
its manufactures of cotton, linen, silk, 
machinery, watches andi other goods, 
suffered acute industrial distress on 
account of the Continental blockade; 
and N., far from relieving the misery 
of the working classes, aggravated it 
by heavy tariffs. It has been said that 
at various times the Emperor comtem- 
plated the conversion of the Confedera- 
tion into a kingdom for one or other of 
his relatives, but this, plan was never 
carried into execution. 

The conditions fixed by the Act of 
Mediation obtained till the dismember- 
ment of the Empire. Thereafter dis- 
turbances aroise within the Swiss Con- 
federation, and there was difficulty in 
maintaining her neutrality inviolate. 
In Dec. 1813 the Landammann 
of Switzerland, Hans von Reinhard, 
summoned an extraordinary Diet, 
which abolished the Act of Mediation, 
but at the same time prepared the way 
for a new Federation. There was some 
friction., however, between this Diet 
of Zurich, which recognized the new 
cantons and excluded subject states 
frorn the union, and a Diet convoked 
at Bern, which desired to' re-establish 
the ancien regime. These matters fell 
to be dealt with by the Congress of 
Vienna, and presented a problem by noi 
meansi easy of solution. Various 
changes were made in the map' of 
Switzerland. Valais (French) and 
Neuohdtel (Prussian) were formed into 
cantons. Bern was not permitted to 
thrust Vaud and Aargau into a condi- 
tion of dependency, as she sought to 
dO' ; but by way of compensation a part 
of the Bernese Jura was gliven to her. 
The result of the Congress of Vienna, 
so far asi Switzerland was coincerned, 
was that the country was divided into 
twenty-twoi cantons, each possessed of 
sovereign rights and powers^ and but 
loosely joined under a Directory. In 
May 181 5 the Declaration recognizing 
the twenty-two cantons, having pre- 
viously passed the Committee of the 
Eight, was accepted by the Diet of 



TALLEYRAND 

Zurich, and two months later it became 
law. On 20 Nov. 181 5 the five Great 
Powers guaranteed the neutrality of 
the Swiss Confederation. 

Swords.— Regarding the swords 
usually worn by N., Constant says : 
"The Emperor's swords were of very 
plain make, gold-mounted, with an owl 
on the hilt. He had two swords made 
like that, which he wore at the battle 
of Austerlitz. One of these was given 
to the Emperor Alexander, the other to 
Prince Eugene, in 1814. That which 
the Emperor actually wore at Auster- 
litz, on which the name and date of 
this memorable battle were engraved, 
must be shut up in the column on the 
Place Vendome. I believe that His 
Majesty still had it when at St. 
Helena." 



Talavera, Battle of (Peninsular 
War). — ^This battle took place on 28 July 
1809. Sir Arthur Wellesley, rely- 
ing on help promised by Cuesto', with 
about 17,000 British troops was on his 
way to attempt the seizure of Madrid. 
He was attacked by 30,000 French, 
under Jourdan and Victor, with King 
Joseph at their head. Much heavy 
fighting ensued, but the French 
were defeated and had to retreat with 
losses of 7,000 men and 17 guns. The 
British lost about 5,000. Unfortu- 
nately this success could not be fol- 
lowed up owing to the Spaniards' 
inefficiency. 

Talleyrand - P^rigord, Charles 
Maurice de (1754-1838).— Perhaps 
the most able and brilliant statesman 
of his time, was the son of Lieutenant- 
General Charles de Talleyrand-Peri- 
gord, and was born at Paris on 
13 Feb. 1754. He was descended on 
both sides from ancient and illustrious 
stock, and his parents resided chiefly 
at court. When climbing on a chest 
of drawers as a child he had the mis- 
fortune tO' injure his foot permanently, 
and, as in the case of Byron and Scott 
the resulting deformity had a powerful 
influence upon his career. He re- 
ceived the elementary part of his edu- 
cation at the College d'Harcourt at 
Paris. But his youth is a sad record 
of callous neglect on the part of his 



415 



TALLEYRAND 

parents, who, because of his lameness, 
took from him his right of primogeni- 
ture, and destined him for^holy orders. 
From the first he set his' face against 
such a career, and although he even- 
tually took orders he became imbued 
with the spirit of those doctrinaries 
who' were at that time undermining 
the authority of the church and the 
kingship in France. 

His ability as a man of affairs was 
speedily recognized, and in 1780, when 
only twenty-six years of age, he was 
appointed agent-general to the clergy 
of France, a post to which he brought 
administrative qualities of a high order. 
But .as one who' was known tO' be 
biased towards free-thinking, he had 
little chance of ecclesiastical promo- 
tion, although his services to the 
church were marked on several occa- 
tions by large sums of money being 
voted to him. In 1789 he was 
appointed Bishop of Autun. One of 
his first acts in this office was the 
promulgation of a manifesto proclaim- 
ing the necessity for political re- 
organization on the part of the States- 
General, and advocating local self- 
government on democratic lines, to- 
gether with other far-reaching legal 
and criminal reforms, and the abolition 
of class privilege. In July 1789 he 
was appointed to the committee to pre- 
pare a. draft of a constitution. He 
proposed the comfiscatioin of the church 
lands to the nation, a measure which 
Mirabeau later carried into effect. In 
short, he gradually dropped the role 
of priest, never very much to his taste, 
and became a man of the Revolution. 
On 21 Jan. 1791 he resigned the see of 
Autun and came under the papal ban. 
Along with Mirabeau and Siey^s he 
was elected a member of the depart- 
ment of Paris. But he did not possess 
the confidence of the people who, how- 
ever lax themselves, were scandalized 
by his private life. Others, too, were 
more enthusiastic than he. His cool, 
supple and calculating caste of mind 
little fitted him^ for the leadership of a 
people frenzied by vengeance and 
democratic hallucinations. He turned 
from the turmoil of national re-making 
to the more congenial task of diplo- 
macy, for which his peculiar talents well 
fitted him. A notorious lover of 



TALLEYRAND 

everything characteristic as well as con- 
stitutional in English life, he was en- 
trusted with an unofficial mission to 
London, where he arrived in Jan. 1792, 
and had a good reception, Pitt extend- 
ing to him a warm welcome. An ex- 
change of ideas between Grenville and 
himself found expression on his part 
of the desire that Great Britain and 
France should guarantee each other in 
their present possessions. But to this 
very reasonable suggestion the British 
Government did not respond. Return- 
ing to France he advised the immediate 
settlement of a French envoy at the 
court of St. James. To this post the 
Marquis Chauvelin was appointed, with 
Talleyrand as his adviser. Meanwhile 
France declared war upon Austria and 
prepared to invade Austria's posses- 
sions in the Low Countries, and so 
acute did anti-Gallic feeling in Eng- 
land become that Talleyrand and his 
principal were compelled to return to 
France. The overthrow of Louis XVI. 
and the massacres of Sept. followed, 
and Talleyrand finding the situation in- 
tolerable, as many other moderates had 
done, betook himself once more to 
England, from which he was sum- 
marily expelled. Thence he sailed to 
the United States, where he remained 
in exile for two and a half years. 

The conclusion of the Terror per- 
mitted his return in 1795. Mme. de 
Stael interceded with BarraSi on his 
behalf and certain disquisitions on 
colonization which he propounded be- 
fore the Institute exhibited such a 
wealth of practical statesmanship as 
to gain him universal applause. In 
1797, chiefly as the result of these 
essays, he was appointed foreign 
minister. But at first he exercised but 
scanty power. He succeeded, how- 
ever, in conveying to N., then reaping 
the reward of his Italian victories, the 
assurance of his political sympathy and 
his satisfaction at the rigorous terms 
of the Treaty of Campo Formio (q-v.). 
Late in 1797 envoys of the United 
States visited France to arrange a 
settlement of certain outstanding in- 
ternational questions, and there is 
little doubt that Talleyrand was guilty 
of the charge of simony then brought 
against him. This militated against 
his inclusion in the Directory in the 



416 



TALLEYRAND 

following- year. In 1799 he resigned 
his post, probably because he foresaw 
that upon the return of N. from Egypt 
a new regime would be instituted, and 
that all of those connected with the 
existing one would be in disfavour. 
On the return of N. he joined the 
g-eneral's hands with those of Siey^s, 
and by bringing about this alliance 
made the coup d'dtat of Brumaire pos- 
sible. On the day of that surprising 
event he presented himself before 
Barras with a written request from 
Roederer for the Director's resigna- 
tion. What passed at the interview is 
not known ; but later in the day Barras 
quitted Paris under military escort. 
For his services on the day of Bru- 
maire Talleyrand received the port- 
folio for foreig'n affairs, and from the 
first addressed himself to the task of 
the reconstruction of France. His 
policy was marked by a strong-ly pacific 
tendency. In fact, the old watchword 
of " Peace, retrenchment and reform " 
mig-ht well be applied tO' it. He per- 
ceived clearly that only by virtue of 
peace and internal reform could France 
really hope to heal the gapingf wounds 
of the Revolution. He strove hard to 
keep the peace with England in 1800. 
In the following- year he assisted the 
negotiations which led to the signing 
of the Concordat with the Pope. The 
cloud of excommunication was lifted 
from him in 1802, and in 1803, at the 
express desire of N., he married Mme. 
Grand, his mistress. In 1802^ also, he 
successfully negotiated affairs with the 
Italian notables met at Lyons to debate 
on matters of import to Italy. N. was 
also indebted to^ him for the skilful 
conduct of matters pertaining- to 
French interests in Germany and 
Switzerland, about this time. In 1803 
he placed all his influence in the 
balance against the breaking- of the 
Peace of Amiens, but without success. 
He strove to curb N.'s ambitious pro- 
jects and to confine his interests to 
French affairs. Many charges of 
political immorality brought against 
him during this time were absolutely 
baseless. He cordially disapproved of 
much of the Napoleonic policy, and 
against the execution of the Due 
d'Enghien he sternly set h'is face. In 
1804 he became grand chamberlain of 

2B 417 



TALLEYRAND 

the Empire with a salary equal to 
;^20,ooo sterling. 

It may be said that Talleyrand was 
a mere looker-on as the European 
policy of N. unfolded, and that such 
events as the dissolution of the Holy 
Roman Empire and the erection of the 
Confederation of the Rhine were not 
upheld by him. In 1806 he was 
created Prince of Benevento in Naples 
by N. During the negotiations with 
Great Britain in 1806 and in connexion 
with the Treaty of Tilsit {q.'v.) in the 
following year he had not a free hand. 
That he betrayed the secret provisions 
of that treaty to Great Britain is ex- 
ceedingly improbable. Where he per- 
ceived no danger to himself )or to 
France, he was perhaps not above ac- 
cepting substantial recognition for his 
services from the representatives of 
thO'Se powers with whom his master's 
policy brought him into contact, but 
when the interests of his country were 
at stake there is every reason to be- 
lieve that he was incapable of betray- 
ing them. He drew farther and farther 
away from the Napoleonic line of 
policy and gave up office upon his 
return fromi Tilsit. He was, how- 
ever, still a member of the Council, 
and at Erfurt privately advised the 
Tsar Alexander I. to be lenient in his 
dealings with Austria, in this divining 
Alexander's own line of action. He 
strongly discountenanced N.'s Spanish 
policy and was dismayed at having to 
entertain the kidnapped Crown Prince 
of Spain at his chateau of Valengay 
in Touraine. During N.'s absence in 
Spain in 1808 he effected a rapproche- 
ment with his old enemy Fouch^, a 
circumstance which so alarmed the 
Emperor that he hastened his return to 
Paris. A scene ensued — of violence 
and vulgar abuse on the part of N. and 
satirical silence on the part of the 
intriguing minister. 

Talleyrand strongly supported the 
choice of an Austrian princess as con- 
sort to N. after the divorce of Jose- 
phine. During the events of 1812 and 
1813 he was powerless to intervene, 
but deprecated the Russian campaign 
from the first. Soon after came the 
final rupture with N., who on the 
occasion of their last meeting ad- 
dressed him in the most violent terms. 



TALLEYRAND 

stigmatizing him as a coward, a 
robber, a traitor and an atheist. Ac- 
cording to N. he was an arch-deceiver 
who would "sell his father." Talley- 
rand sent in his resignation as a coun- 
cillor, which was not accepted. On 
the downfall of N. Talleyrand con- 
vinced the Tsar Alexander that the 
Bourbons should be recalled in the 
true interests of France, and it was he 
who convoked the Senate which de- 
creed that N. had forfeited the crown. 
He had to labour most strenuously to 
prevent the partition of France by the 
German princes, a course in which he 
was countenanced by England and 
Russia. At the Congress of Vienna 
(q.'v.) Talleyrand, as representing 
France, succeeded in breaking up the 
league of the powers agreed upon at 
Chaumont, and negotiated a secret 
alliance between France, Austria, and 
Great Britain as a balance against the 
power of Russia and Prussia. During 
the Hundred Days he remained at 
Vienna, nor did he take any part in 
the events of that time. Once more 
he brought in the Bourbons and suc- 
ceeded in sparing France from many 
of the rigours of defeat. His political 
life really ends with the final abdica- 
tion of N., and although he occupied 
the post of ambassador to London for 
a time it was a period of comparative 
quiet. 

In estimating the character of 
Talleyrand we must not forget that we 
are dealing with a man of the vieille 
noblesse who was a revolutionist more 
by reason of philosophy and conviction 
than enthusiasm. Never actuated by 
violence and always pacific, his modtis 
politicus recalls that of the diplomats 
and statesmen of the old regime, from 
whom he was in direct intellectual 
descent. Indeed, Talleyrand may be 
said to be the old French court diplo- 
mat remoulded in the fires of the new 
thought and the Revolution. The 
material was the same if the outlook 
differed, and the ease with which 
Talleyrand returned to the methods of 
the House of Bourbon, his support of 
the designs of the House of Austria, 
and his dislike of those of N., are 
eloquent of his real character. Much 
as he chafed at Napoleonic methods, it 
was impossible for him not to engage 



TALLIEN 

in such diplomatic activities as fell to 
his hands, and, a true lover of France, 
he felt that he must serve h^r no 
matter under what sway she should 
chance to come. It is not impossible 
that his recall of the Bourbons was in 
some measure dictated by a desire for 
revenge against N,, whom he probably 
disliked and despised as a man, how- 
ever he may have admired him as a 
ruler. In private life Talleyrand exer- 
cised the utmost personal charm. He 
was possessed of a wonderful fund of 
humour and sarcasm, and his courtly 
bearing and polish are constantly re- 
marked upon by the most critical con- 
temporary judges. He was a great 
statesman, a great gentleman, and a 
great man. 

Taliien, Jean Lambert (1767- 
1820). — Reached the height of his 
notoriety during the Revolutionary 
period, yet he had a certain influence 
upon the events of the Napoleonic era 
— indeed, for some time he was a 
friend of N. Taliien was of inferior 
birth, but received a good education 
from the Marquis de Bercy, in whose 
service his father held the post of 
maitre d'hotel. When the Revolution 
came to a head, Taliien was on the 
staff of the Moniteur, and the wide- 
spread circulation of his Jacobin 
broadsheet L'Ami des Citoyens brought 
him under the notice of the Revolu- 
tionary leaders. He was elected a 
member of the Convention, and became 
one of the most feared proK:onsuls 
whoi at that time terrorized France. 
Owing to the deep infatuation which 
he conceived for one of his victims, 
whom he afterwards married (see 
Mme. Tallien), his sanguinary 
deeds somewhat abated, but he was 
then accused of moderatism and re- 
called to Paris. In March 1794 he was 
appointed president of the Convention. 
Robespierre and he, however, were 
deadly enemies, and realizing that one 
must fall, Taliien organized a move- 
ment against Robespierre which cul- 
minated on 9 Thermidor (27 July 
1794) and ended the latter's life. 
Taliien 's political career closed with 
the Convention, although he was duly 
elected a member of the Five Hundred, 
in which council he remained until May 
1798. He favoured N.'s appointment 



418 



TALLIEN 

as general of Convention, and accom- 
panied him in 1798 to Egypt, where he 
edited the Ddcade Egyptienne, the 
official journal. On his return voyage 
to France he was captured by a British 
warship and taken to London, where 
he was lionized by the Whigs. He 
went back to France in 1802, and in 
1805 was made consul at Alicante, re- 
maining there for some years, during 
which he lost the sight of one eye 
through yellow fever. He then re- 
turned to Paris, where he died in great 
poverty on 4 Nov. 1820. He wrote 
several books, among them Discours 
sur les causes qui ont produit la Re- 
volution frangaise (Paris 1791), and a 
Mimoire sur V administration de 
I'Egypte a I'arrivee des Frangais. 

Tallien, Madame Th^r^se, n^e 
Cabarrus (1773-1835).— Comtesse de 
Caramon, Princesse de Chimay, 
daughter of Count Cabarrus, Spanish 
minister of finance and banker; was 
born at Saragossa in 1773. At the 
age of sixteen she married M. Devin 
de Fontenai, son of a distinguished 
family and counsellor to the parliament 
of Bordeaux. Her married life was 
unhappy. One version of the affair 
would lay tlie blame on Thi^r^se, infer- 
ring that thus early in her life were 
developed those traits destined to make 
her notorious ; whilst another relates 
with circumstantial detail the manner 
in which M. de Fontenai shocked and 
affronted his young wife by his flagrant 
libertinism, so much so that in this 
lay the cause of that later perversion 
of her nature. Whichever be true, 
the fact remains that when the Re- 
public instituted divorce, Mme. de 
Fontenai obtained one from her hus- 
band. After this she led a life of free- 
dom, and is said to have joined the 
Revolutionary party, becoming a well- 
known figure at the meetings in Bor- 
deaux. This, however, did not save 
her from arrest as an aristocrat, the 
daughter and wife of noblemen. Her 
singular and extreme beauty and 
powers of fascination were the talk of 
all, so that Tallien, then on his mission 
to Bordeaux as Commissioner of the 
Republic, heard beforehand of this 
beautiful woman, and his curiosity was 
fully aroused by the time she was 
brought before him as a prisoner. 



TALLIEN 

The story runs that Tallien fell madly 
in love with the aristocratic beauty, 
visiting her in her cell, and finally 
carrying her back with him to Paris. 
By this act he incurred the suspicion 
of the Committee of Public Safety, 
whilst Mme. de Fontenai was re- 
arrested and again imprisoned. The 
fall of Robespierre is said to have been 
hastened by her lover in order to save 
his mistress's life, her name being on 
the list of those destined to die the next 
day. It is related that she sent Tallien 
a dagger, or again a scrap of paper 
on which was written, "Coward, I die 
to-morrow." From this sprang those 
dramatic events which ended in the 
ghastly death of Robespierre, and 
Mme. de Fontenai became "Notre 
Dame de Thermidor" and the wife of 
her deliverer. Modern research has 
shattered this picturesque legend and 
attributes it on good evidence to 
Ars^ne Houssaye, who fathered and 
gave currency to the tale and himself 
christened Ther^se with the famous 
title. And by the same evidence love 
on either side is proved a myth. The 
true facts seem to be that Tallien, per- 
ceiving that such a woman would 
further his interests by her beauty, 
fascination and wit, also by her for- 
tune, had exerted his powers of pro- 
tection, and Ther^se, on her side, as 
the price of her life, first tolerated him 
as a lover and on lier release married 
him. Tallien's character is in itself 
an argument against the legend for 
he was obviously not one to risk his 
life for a grand passion. That such 
was practically non-existent is shown 
by his early acquiescence in her varied 
amours. The fall of Robespierre was 
brought about by the political ambition 
of Tallien and others, the enemies and 
also the suspects of the triumvirate. 
In reality it was a struggle for life — 
the guillotine waited for the van- 
quished. In such a pass mistresses 
were forgotten ; besides, such were 
plentiful in those days. Th^r^se, it 
would seem, owed her life to nothing 
more than a lucky chance. 

As Mme. Tallien she, together with ' 
Josephine Beauharnais — another for- 
tunate prisoner released by the same 
event — ruled that strange and ill- 
assorted crowd known as society under 



419 



TALLIEN 

the Directory. These two were th^ 
originators of those fantastic fashions 
of the period. Their respective fol- 
lowers waged wars bitter and furious 
over the frills and furbelows, or rather 
lack of them, whilst the leaders them- 
selves from the same cause were some- 
times friends but also sometimes 
enemies. A publication of the period 
thus describes these fashions: "The 
fair sex in France, naturally coquettes, 
vain, dashing and bold were now much- 
more inclined towards the naked than 
the clothed system. Nakedness, abso- 
lute nakedness, and nothing but naked- 
ness was therefore seen at the play- 
houses, at the opera, at the concerts, 
at the routs and in public walks as 
well as in private assemblies. When 
one lady left off a fichu, another laid 
aside a petticoat. When one uncovered 
her arms, another exposed her nether 
limbs. Had the progress of stripping 
continued a little longer in the same 
proportion, it is very probable that 
most French ladies would in some 
months have reduced themselves to be 
admired, envied or blamed as the Eves 
of the eighteenth century." A further 
description from the same work is of 
interest in reference to the rivalry be- 
tween "Mme. Beauharnais, the gay 
widow of the guillotined viscount of 
the same name," and Mme. Tallien. 
Speaking of the dress of the former, 
it says : " Under a clear muslin gown 
she put on flesh-coloured satin panta- 
loons, leaving off all petticoats, but at 
the same time lowering the sleeves of 
her gown to her elbows, whose long 
elastic gloves of grenoble combined to 
conceal even her clumsy fingers. Mme. 
Tallien, who prided herself on the 
beauty of her arms, in her turn wore 
gowns without sleeves, and to distract 
the notice of amateurs from the flesh- 
coloured pantaloons of her rival, affixed 
borders of large and open Brussels 
lace to her undergarments. These 
fashionable contrarieties entertained 
many and scandalized few of the re- 
publican beaux and belles ; though the 
partisans of long gloves lampooned 
those of short sleeves, and the cabal 
of under-petticoats wrote epigrams on 
the motives of the wearers of panta- 
loons." The writer of this description 
was a royalist partisan which may ac- 



TALLIEN 

count for the savage flavour; but tbe 
complaint of a republican writer may 
also be quoted. Writing of Mme. 
Tallien, he says : " Possessed of an 
ample income, the whole of which is 
at her own command, she indulges in 
all the extravagance of dress and de- 
coration. One day her shoulders, chest 
and lower limbs are bare ; on the next 
they are adorned with festoons of gold 
chains, while her head sparkles with 
diamonds ; and instead of the simplicity 
of a Roman matron, she constantly ex- 
hibits all the ostentatious luxury of a 
Persian sultana. France may be 
termed a commonwealth, but these 
surely are not republican manners be- 
fitting the wife of one of the most 
eminent of her citizens." 

During the absence of her husband 
in Egypt the conduct of Mme. Tallien 
made her notorious even in that time 
of general laxity. Barras, it is said, 
she refused as a lover, but many others 
were named as the favoured ontes, 
amongst them thie Swedish Count Rib- 
bing, and she gave birth to two chil- 
dren whom Tallien repudiated. When 
Bonaparte, now the husband of Jose- 
phine, became First Consul it was evi- 
dent that Mme. Tallien's social star 
was on the wane ; for he absolutely 
forbade any further intimacy between 
his wife and her former friend and 
rival in the realm of fashion. Orders 
were given by him for her exclusion ; 
the consular court had no knowledge of 
"Notre Dame de Thermidor," and 
Duroc, prefect of the court, was com- 
missioned to convey the command. He 
was dismissed with a witty gibe at 
Mme. Bonaparte's expense, and further 
scandalous bons mots reflecting on the 
same exalted lady were much quoted 
and appreciated by Parisian society. 
In 1802 Tallien divorced his wife, but 
did not despise her princely hospitality 
as the mistress of the banker Ouvrard, 
for there is an account, taken from, 
contemporary letters, of a dinner given 
by Mme. and her "cher ami," where 
Tallien sits by the side of his ci-devant 
spouse, and during the banquet en- 
gages her in "an animated and almost 
affectionate conversation." In 1805 
she married the Comte de Caramon, 
afterwards Prince de Chimay, by whom 
she had a family of two- sons and two 



420 



TARRAGONA 

daughters. Her life was now said to 
be as exemplary as hitherto it had been 
the reverse. But during the Restora- 
tion she never broke down the social 
ostracism caused by her doings in the 
days of the Directory, when she ruled 
a sorry queen of a motley court. To 
one of her character social banishment 
was a dire calamity, and she became a 
bitter and disappointed woman. Self, 
power and display seem' to have been 
the chief objects of her worship; there 
does not seem to have been even the 
excuse of a passionate temperament 
for her many amours; they were 
wholly of a commercial nature. She 
was, nevertheless, one of the most fas- 
cinating women of her time. She died 
at Chimay in Belgium in the year 

1835- 

Tarragona. —During the Peninsu- 
lar War in 181 1, this great seaport 
was besieged in May and June by 
Suchet, who had collected as many 
troops as possible for the purpose. The 
siege commenced on 4 May, and on 
the 29th the formidable Fort Olivo 
was carried by storm. The upper 
town was heroically defended by the 
brave Spanish governor, Contreras, but 
on 28 June the French made a desper- 
ate assault and the whole town was 
finally taken, the lower part, includ- 
ing Fort Royal and iJie harbour, 
having been reduced seven days 
previously. 

Taurog'gen, Convention of.— At 
Tauroggen on 30 Dec. 181 2 General 
York von Wartenburg, commander of 
the Prussian corps attached to N.'s 
army, concluded with the Russians a 
secret convention whereby the Prussian 
corps was temporarily neutralized. 
See Kalisch, Treaty of. 

Tea.— N.'s fondness for this bever- 
age is commented upon by Constant, 
who relates an amusing anecdote re- 
garding the Emperor's partiality for 
tea : "On one occasion, at midday, the 
Emperor asked for some tea. M. 
Sen^chal was in attendance, so he 
made some and brought it to His 
Majesty, who declared that it was 
detestable. I was sent for, and the 
Emperor complained to me that they 
' wanted to poison him.' (Whenever 
he did not like anything that is what 
he always said.) Going back to the 



THEATRE 

kitchen, I poured out another cup of 
tea from the same tea-pot, placed it 
on a salver, and took it to the Em- 
peror, together with two enamelled 
teaspoons, one for me to taste the 
beverage in his presence, and the other 
for himself. This time he said the tea 
was excellent and complimented me 
upon it, with that easy, good-natured 
familiarity with which he sometimes 
treated his servants. On handing 
me back the cup, he pulled my 
ear and said, ' For heaven's sake, 
do teach them how to make tea ; 
they know absolutely nothing about 
it.'" 

Theatre. — The military achieve- 
ments of N. were so extraordinary, and 
savour so essentially of the heroic, 
antique world, that many of us are a 
little inclined to forget, perhaps, that 
after all it is not very long since these 
great campaigns were fought. And, 
as a result of our feeling in this re- 
spect, we are slightly prone to think 
of Bonaparte's Paris as having been 
almost mediaeval, whereas, in reality, 
the life of that town then differed! but 
little from itsi life to-day. Then, as 
surely as now, the Parisians were con- 
stantly eager for entertainment; and 
certainly, where theatres were con- 
cerned, they were abundantly pro- 
vided. In addition to the Odeon, the 
Louvois and the Gaiet^, they had the 
Theatre de la Porte St. Martin and 
the Th6^tre desi Delassements 
Comiques ; while the year of the 
Emperor's coronation saw the found- 
ing of the Theatre du Boudoir des 
Muses; and no less famous than any 
of these houses was the Com^die Fran- 
9aise, which a French historian of the 
actor's art styles enthusiastically, 
"asile de toute nos gloires, soit 
litteraires, soit dramatiques." There 
were, moreover, the Favart and the 
Feydeau, known as the Opera 
Comique after their union in 1801 ; and 
the themes dealt with by these theatres 
during the Consulate and the Empire 
hold for us a dual significance, a two- 
fold importance. For, when ponder- 
ing on this subject, we do not think 
only of the plays acted in those days, 
the authors' who comiposed them, the 
actors and actresses who) won fame in 
them, but rather of the lively 



421 



THEATRE 

patronag-e which the stage elicited 
from Bonaparte himself. 

The Emperor's fondness therein 
began when he was still very young". 
Soon after he first came tO' Paris, he 
chanced tO' meet Fran9ois Jo'seph 
Talmia (i 763-1 826), afterwards to 
become the most renowned tragedian 
of his generation, but as yet virtually 
destitute of fame and nearly as poor 
as his newly found acquaintance. The 
two youths must have had much in 
common, for the actor shared the Cor- 
sican's sympathies with the Revolu- 
tionary party ; while Bonaparte was 
already an avowed devotee of Voltaire, 
and it happened that Talma had 
recently been playing- in that author's 
Mahomet. An intimacy, accordingly, 
soon sprang" up between the pair, and, 
if tradition may be trusted, Talma used 
to offer his friend passes to^ the theatre, 
which were only too glady accepted. 
Be that story true or not, and there 
is no reason to disbelieve it, it is a 
fact that N., on coming- to power, did 
not forgfet his. old friend ; and we find 
that in 1808, when the Emperor went 
to Erfurt to interview the Tsar, he 
took Talma along- with him, the latter 
being- called upon to declaim certain 
passag-es for the delectation of the 
Russian sovereig-n. More important 
still, the trag^edian became the 
recipient of a handsome annuity from 
the French treasury ; and long- after 
this he said to the dramatist, Nepu- 
muc6ne Lemercier, " Napoleon m'a 
toujours t6moig-ne une grande bien- 
veillance," 

If Bonaparte was fond of Voltaire's 
plays, he was equally fond of 
Corneille's, while he loved making 
suggestions to the dramatists of his 
own time. Sklower, in his Entrevue 
de Napoleon aveo Goethe, relates that 
the Emperor told this author he ought 
"to write a play upon the death of 
Caesar, but in a much worthier and 
grander manner than Voltaire's. In 
such a tragedy, you should show how 
Caesar would have made the happi- 
ness of humanity had time been 
allowed him to execute his vast 
schemes." Nor did the imperial hints 
of this sort always fall upon deaf ears, 
for St. Beuve, in his Causeries du 
Lundi, assures us that Arnault derived 



THEATRE 

a whole act of his play Les Venitiens 
from ideas given him by Bonaparte ; 
while how constantly the latter' 9 
thoughts dwelt upon the drama, and 
especially upon tragedy, is illustrated 
by many passages in his letters. 

It would seem that the theatrical 
world early realized the chance their 
professiion gave themi of paying court 
to Bonaparte, and that it was not long 
before they began to trim their sails 
to the wind, so toi speak. Fabulous 
as it may sound, it is the case that, 
within three days of the coup d'etat 
of 18 Brumaire which put the 
helm of France into N.'s hands, the 
Theatre Favart contrived to get on to 
its boards a play dealing with this in- 
cident, Les Mariners de St. Cloud, in 
which the First Consul was lauded to 
the skies, while the ousted govern- 
ment was held up to* scorn. This play 
was written by one Seurin, and, 
assuming that he usually wrote as pre- 
cipitately as on this occasion, we do 
not marvel that his name is otherwise 
forgotten ! Yet his haste was scarcely 
greater than that of a trio of hacks, 
L^ger, Chazet and Gouff^, who now 
compiled two topical dramas, Une 
Journee a St. Cloud and Le Peche auoc 
Jacobins, these being no sooner 
finished than they were staged at the 
Theatre des Troubadours, The 
example thus shown was soon followed 
far and near, and the Thedtre du 
Vaudeville, calling to its assistance no 
fewer than six scribblers from the 
Quartier Latin, set them to work at 
breakneck speed on a drama on the 
matter of the moment. The result of 
their labours was entitled La Girouette 
de St. Cloud, and it outdid all 
analogous pieces in the scurrility of 
its attacks on the departed govern- 
ment, while N. was deified withi an 
amusing extravagance. 

However, it would be wrong to sup- 
pose that the Bonapartists had it all 
their own way and that the other politi- 
cal parties of the time did not show 
some sort of fight on the stage. A 
play which made a great stir before 
the close of the Consulate was one by 
Alexandre Duval, Edouard en Ecosse, 
concerned with the Jacobite rising in 
1745 ; and in this piece the exiled Bour- 
bon sovereign, known to his adherents 



422 



THEATRE 

as Louis XVIJI,, was indirectly exalted 
by means of oomparing* himi to the 
gallant Stuart prince, Charles Edward. 
This naturally gave some umbrage to 
N., the result being that the dramatist 
found lit advisable to wander away into 
Russia; yet he was soon back in his 
native France, and it does not appear 
that any strong measuresi were taken 
against him. Indeed, we find him 
making another success, only a little 
later, with a drama called Guillaume 
le Conquerant. 

Wbile theatrical managers! were so 
sorely hurried to get together pieces 
celebrating Bonaparte's initial step to 
power, this step being to some extent 
unexpected by the French people in 
general, it is probable that, long before 
the establishment of the Emplire was a 
fait accompli, both playwrights and 
their employers guessed that that event 
was likely to happen, and accordingly 
made the requisite preparations. The 
very day after N. became Emperor 
the Thj6^tre Fran9ais gave a drama 
dealing incidentally with the affair, 
Pierre le Grand, the work of Nisas, 
a cavalry officer turned author, who 
long years before had been a comrade 
of Bonaparte at the Ecole Militaire at 
Brienne. And exactly six days after 
the coronation the same theatre staged 
a semi-topical play, Cyrus, from the 
pen of Marie Joseph Chenier, formerly 
a staunch upholder of Republican 
principles. The victory at Jena in 
1806 was loudly celebrated in many 
dramas, perhaps the most successful 
of these being Le Reve, written by 
Barre, Desfontaines and Radet. In 
many pieces, moreover, devotion to 
the Napoleonic regime was fostered by 
the expression of bitter anti-English 
sentiments, an element especially 
noticeable in the Senateur of Beranger ; 
while the coming of Marie Louise from^ 
Austriia to Paris proved a great 
stimulus to dramatists, and among the 
best plays acclaiming the new Empress 
was Rougemont's Manage de Charle- 
magne. Even when Bonaparte's star 
was fast growing dimi in the heavens a 
few dramatic authors continued toi 
stand firm for him ; and one whomi we 
must mention in tMs relation was the 
Ossianic enthusiast, Baour-Lormian, 
who, on the eve of the debacle of the 



THEATRE 

Empire, had the satisfaction of voic- 
ing his staunch imperialist sympathies 
in a piece called L'Oriflamme. 

As observed at the outset, the 
Parisians of the Consulate and the 
Empire were good supporters of the 
theatre; and it must not be thought 
that the only fare offered them con- 
sisted in plays dealing wholly, or 
partly, with contemporaneous events. 
The more important tragedies of 
Shakespeare were staged from time to 
time, and, if it must be owned that 
these usually saw the light in sadly 
garbled versions, liberties of that sort 
were iseldom or never taken with the 
works of the great French dramatists 
of le grand siecle, which seem to have 
been vouchsafed a just quota of 
prominence and applause in the Napo- 
leonic era. Furthermore, although this 
period begot so few novelists, his- 
torians^ or lyrical poets whose works 
have lived, it was curiously rich in 
fecund playwrights, mirroring in their 
works all sorts of phases of life ; and 
in this connexion we should mention 
Raynouard, Lemercier, Aiginan, Ducis 
and Brifaut, Legouv6, Andrieux and 
Collin d'Harleville, while still more 
prolific than any of these was Louis 
Fran9ois Picard. 

How unfamiliar the: names of all 
these once popular dramatists sound 
now, these men whoi erstwhile made 
Paris laugh and cry by turns, and hoiw 
faint a recollection is; preserved to-day 
of those whoi played their works ! The 
very name of Mme. de Lamballe, in 
her own time a theatrical star of the 
first magnitude, is virtually forgotten; 
while Mme. Mold-Raymond is remem- 
bered not so muchi because she acted 
well as on account of her portrait by 
Vigde le Brun ; and as toi Talma and 
the equally famous Mile. Georges, 
these evoke our interest mainly because 
the former was N.'s intimate friend, 
the latter his mistress. It is main- 
tained by her biographers that she, to 
the end of her long and stormy life, 
entertained sc lingering affection for 
her bygone lover, always refusing to 
listen to disparaging remarks about 
him; while Talma, as we have seen, 
acknowledged freely and amply his 
obligations to the Emperor. When- 
ever the Emperor saw fit to express 



423 



THiBAUDEAU 

personal approval for a drama, an 
actor or an actress, how quick were 
th,e populace to espouse and echo the 
opinion of their great mentor ! The 
immediate result often being that, in 
theatres far and near, keen attempts 
were made to emulate what had g-rati- 
fied the imperial taste. Thus, then, 
the "world-demanding- Tamburlaine " 
moulded the stage of his day, moulded 
it for his own ends. 

Thibaudeau, Antoine Claire.— 
Was deputy-syndic of the commune of 
Poitiers, when in Sept. 1792 he 
was appointed deputy from Vienne to 
the National Convention, where he 
soon distinguished himself and gained 
a foremost position. After the fall of 
Robespierre he became one of the 
chiefs of the Conventional party, which 
declared equally against the Montag- 
nards and the Royalists, and later was 
named secretary of the Convention. 
In April 1795 he was chosen member 
of the Committee of Public Safety, 
and did much to place affairs on a 
firm basis when the fires of the Revolu- 
tion, had finally burnt themselves out. 
The steadiness of his principles secured 
him^ the name of "Bar of Iron," and 
in 1796 he was chosen president of 
the Council of Five Hundred. 
Moderate and reasonable, his log^ical 
and equable mind is well reflected in 
his memoirs, an account of which 
follows. 

Memoirs. — In the pages of this 
memoirist we have perhaps the best 
portrait of N. in his civil capacity. 
He provides us with the most exact 
and fullest reports extant of the words 
used by N. as First Consul during' the 
debates in the council of state and in 
intimate conversatiom. Beg'inning with 
a sketch of N. and his court, his 
Bonaparte and the Consulate outlines, 
as its title implies, the entire epoch 
of N.'s life between his election to- the 
highest office in the republican state 
and his seizure of the imperial power. 
To beg^in with, says Thibaudeau, even 
the more aristocratic of the republicans 
did not take well with the ceremony 
of the court, for it was in reality 
almost a royal m6nagfe that the First 
Consul kept at the Tuileries. The 
official nature of the entertainments 
came almost as a shock even toi the 



THIBAUDEAU 

Directors themselves, and we are told 
that N. became very particular reg-ard- 
ing the status and personality of his 
guests. Etiquette ruled everything. 
The court at first was "small, select 
and strictly decent and respeotable. " 
The title of citizen was entirely 
abrogated and courtesy was observed 
by the cards of individuals having- 
printed upon them the usual "mon- 
sieur" or "madame." N. took great 
pains tO' become familiarly acquainted 
with his troops, both officers and men. 
He felt that his power rested on the 
army, and he cultivated its affection 
for him in every possible manner. 
Enthusiasm was hig-h in both court 
and camp in these days. It was felt 
that a firm ruler with noble aspirations 
was at the head of affairs. 

Military uniform now gfave way to 
civil costume, court swords and silk 
stockingSi took the place of the sabre 
and riding boots. Had the First 
Consul once appeared in powder, the 
Revolutionary fashion of wearing the 
hair powderless would have been aban- 
doned. As it was powder was worn 
by many, but the younger ladies abso- 
lutely refused to return to that fashion 
— ^they dreaded, it is said, the panniers 
and hoops of the time of Louis XV. 
as the next step towards stiffness in 
costume. N. himself preferred the 
society of scientific men, such, as 
Laplace, Monge, BerthoUet and Chap- 
tal. If he ever condescended to dance, 
he invariably mixed up thei figures in 
such a manner as to spoil the whole 
set : he always asked for the Monaco^, 
a dance in which the figures were few 
and simple. He showed best at a 
review or an audience in full uniform, 
when, says the memoirist, "he seemed 
to have a special art of bringing" tall 
men down to his own height or of 
raising himself to theirs." The Tri- 
bunat and Corps L6gislatif are the 
subjects of a separate chapter in the 
memoirs. The procedure of these 
bodies is reviewed and the principal 
measures which they passed during the 
Consulate are also touched upon, 

N.'s treatment of the 6migris is 
justified by Thibaudeau. N. stated 
that until he came into power he knew 
nothing of the laws agalinst the 
imigres, and strenuously objected that 



424 



THIBAUDEAU 



THIBAUDEAU 



the soldiers of liberty should be turned 
into' executioners. One of his first 
public acts as First Consul was to 
release the Due de Choiseul and some 
other Emigres who had been ship^ 
wrepked on the coast near Calais and 
retained as prisoners. Shortly after- 
wards, in 1800, he caused! a law to be 
passed closing- the list of emigres, 
while in April 1802 a general amnesty 
was proclaimed to all except those who 
had taken oflfice abroad or had led in- 
surrections against the Republic. With 
Chapter vii. of the memoirs we arrive 
at the period of war. In fact it covers 
the space between the battle of Hohen- 
linden iim Dec. 1800 and the re- 
newal of the war with Great Britain 
in May 1803. The diplomatic astute- 
ness of N. is shown by the dialogue 
which took place between hlimi and his 
council regarding" the nature of a 
treaty. Portalis had spoken' at great 
length to prove that a treaty is not a 
law. Trug"uet recommended that the 
authors of the constitution should be 
asked whether they intended to submit 
the treaties to the Corps Legislatif for 
ratification. N. stated that he was one 
of the authors referred to and that 
suchi was not their intention. Truguet 
bluntly asked N. for his opinion all 
the same, but the First Consul replied : 
"I ami of no party myself. I have no 
opinions here. I am herd to profit by 
the wisdom of the Council." 

About the beg!inniag of 1803 the 
insults' of the London newspapers had 
made the First Consul so angry that 
he was constantly thinking and speak- 
ing of England. He criticized the 
British administration and the costli- 
ness of their army and navy. 
"People," he said, "are infatuated 
about Eng^land without knowing" any- 
thing- about her. It is the same with 
her literature. Shakespeare was almost 
forgotten even by the English for two 
hundred years, until Voltaire at 
Geneva, much mixed up with Eng- 
lish people, took it into his head to 
write him up, to please his English 
friends; ever since people have gone 
about repeating that Shakespeare was 
the greatest author that ever lived. I 
have read him, and there is nothing* 
in him which approaches Corneille or 
Racine. His plays are not worth read- 



ing : they are below contempt." The 
irritation continued. "Sir," said N. to 
the English ambassador, "you may 
kill Frenchmen, but you cannot intimi- 
date them. ' ' There is very little doubt 
that N. had conceived an ill-will, for 
reasons gfood or bad, against Great 
Britain. The Concordat (q.v.) is then 
described, as are the wonderful dis- 
cussions on the Civil Code {see Code 
Napoleon), in which the First Consul 
displayed such vivacity and natural 
ability as to surprise all who heard 
himi. The workings of the council of 
state are also described and the in- 
stitution of the consulate for life. Plot 
and counterplot are represented in 
these latter pages. A councillor of 
state writes to Josephine : " You 
cannot suppose that a few councillors 
and those in the minority could hope to 
weigh down the scales agfainst Bona- 
parte's natural inclinations and the 
advice which assails him^ on all sides 
toi seize the supreme power and seat 
himself on the throne. You know how 
he has behaved to Truguet whenever 
he had tried to tell him the truth and 
how contemptuously he labels everyone 
who speaks of liberty as either an 
' ideologue ' or a ' terrorist. ' He is 
assured of the majority of the senate 
and the corps legislatif, while the 
nation seems to be either indifferent or 
inclined to g-ive himi a free hand to do 
what he pleases. Moreover, all these 
schemes are ripening in the dark, and 
moist of usi will be permitted to know 
nothing' about them until it is too late 
to interfere. The council will only be 
consulted as the merest form. You 
know what my principles are and also 
what a sincere reg"ard I have for the 
First Consul. The more power he 
grasps, the wider does the breach 
become between him and his- best sup- 
porters, the men of the Revolution. 
They will submit, no doubt, but 
they will noi longer be attached to 
him." 

The reform of the constitution is 
well reviewed in these memoirs. N. 
is quoted as saying": "The English 
constitution has been proposed as the 
best pattern for our own. I wish to 
explain the reasons why I do not ag-ree 
with this view. In the English con- 
stitution there is a House of Lords. 



425 



TILSIT 

... In France the materials out of 
whioh suchi a house could be formed 
are non-existent. Do you think it 
desirable to create them? If we made 
such a chamber out of the men of the 
Revolution we should have to place in 
their hands a large proportion of the 
landed property of France, which is, 
of course, quite impracticable." The 
chang-es in the ministry which prefaced 
N.'s seizure of the imperial power are 
lastly drawn, and the coup d'etat itself 
is briefly sketched. 

The historian who' would walk 
throug-h the dark and devious paths 
of the times of the Consulate must to 
a g-reat extent pin his faith to Thibau- 
deau, who had such magfnificent oppor- 
tunities for obtaining- the most intimate 
information regarding the politics of 
that interesting time. The unknown 
"N." whoi appears again and again 
in these pages is undoubtedly none but 
the memoirist himself, and from the 
definite manner in whioh his conversa- 
tions with the First Consul are set 
forth we may be sure that here we 
have the very words of N. himself 
preserved in this record for the benefit 
of future statesmen and theorists. 

Tilsit, Treaty of.— This very im- 
portant treaty, signed on 9 July 1807, 
brought to a close the Franco-Prussian 
campaign begun in the previous year. 
The rout of Friedland (13 and 14 June) 
had given N. the opportunity, which 
he had hitherto sought in vain, of ally- 
ing himself with Russia. Ever alert 
to the possibilities of scenic effect, he 
met the Emperor Alexander on a raft 
moored in the River Niemen (25 June), 
while the King of Prussia, too utterly 
crushed to have any voice in the fate 
of his country, waited on the bank 
tO' learn the result of their delibera- 
tions. The interview lasted for three 
hours; N. exerted all his powers to 
impress Alexander, drew vivid pictures 
of a world-empiire ruled over by them- 
selves alone, and to such good purpose 
that the youthful and enthusiastic 
emperor was completely won. A draft 
of their plans was drawn up, which 
resulted in the treaty of peace between 
France and Prussia, and the no' less 
important treaty of alliance between 
France and Russia, the subsequent 
negotiations being carried out by less 



TILSIT 

exalted representatives of the countries 
concerned. 

The terms of the treaty were ex- 
ceedingly disadvantageous to the King 
of Prussia, who was thereby deprived 
of half his territory. Indeed N. con- 
ceived the project of sweeping Prussia 
out of existence, but the Russian 
monarch would certainly have objected 
toi so drastic a step, even though his 
newly roused ambition led him to 
betray his British and Prussian 
alliance. The principal provisions of 
Tilsit were : (i) Prussia was to be de- 
prived of all her territory west of the 
Elbe, of the southern portion of West 
Prussia, and of the territories she had 
acquired at the second and third par- 
titions of Poland ; (2) a huge war in- 
demnity was to be required of Prussia, 
and her fortresses were to be occupied 
by French troops till it was paid ; (3) 
Danzig, with a radius of twelve miles 
round, was made a free city under the 
protectorship of Prussia and Saxony, 
but pending the conclusion of a general 
peace it was to' be garrisoned by 
French troops; (4) Prussia was to join 
in the coalition against Great Britain. 

In the treaty between France and 
Russia was set forth N.'s plan for the 
disposal of the Prussian cessions : the 
provinces west of the Elbe, with^ 
Hesse, were to^ be erected into the 
kingdom of Westphalia for Jerome 
Bonaparte ; the Polish acquisitions 
were to form the duchy of Warsaw, 
under the elector of Saxony ; Bialystok 
fell to Russia. In addition to recog- 
nizing these changes, Alexander agreed 
to France's acquisitioni of Cattaro and 
the Ionian Isles. The treaty also proi- 
vided that Alexander should mediate 
between France and Britain, and N. 
between Russia and Turkey. If 
Britain did not come to terms before 
I Nov. 1807 neutral countries must 
be forced to close their ports to her ; 
while if the Turks refused N.'s media- 
tion they were to be driven fromi 
Europe, thus leaving Alexander and 
N. (the "Emperors of the East and 
West ") free to conquer India. 

In the Treaty of Tilsit N.'s prindipal 
object was certainly not the dominion 
of Prussia or the acquisition of her 
territory. His desire was to begin a 
great commercial war against Britain, 



426 



TOILET 

which he fondly hop€d would bring- her 
to his feet. Then, having broken down 
the last European barrier in his way, 
he Would have a chance to realize those 
lifelong- dreams of a vast eastern 
empire, which were nearer to his heart 
than even his western ambitions.. 

Toilet. — Constant says regarding 
N. 's customary daily toilet : " Before 
completing his toilet the Emperor used 
to wear white' duok pants and a 
dressing-gown of the same material. 
In winter he wore a similar costume, 
only of thick cotton. He wore a hand- 
kerchief twisted round his head, the 
two ends hanging down behind. Every 
night the Emperor; himself put on this 
most becoming head-dress. Another 
handkerchief was given to him on leav- 
ing the bath, his always being soaked 
through with his ablutions, as he 
splashed about in the bath the whole 
time. When this was over, and he 
had read his dispatches, he began to 
dress. I used to shave him before he 
knew how to shave himself. When 
the Emperor had learnt how to do this, 
he first used a mirror fixed to the 
window ; but he got so close to it, and 
lathered himself so roughly, that the 
mirror, window panes, curtains, 
toilet-table, and the Emperor himself 
were smothered in soap-suds. To 
remedy this, all his servants took 
counsel together, when St was decided 
that Roustan should hold up the mirror 
for His Majesty. When the Emperor 
had shaved one side of his face he 
turned the other side to the light, 
making Roustan move from left to 
right, "or vice versa. The toilet-table 
also had to be moved away. When 
he had done shaving the Emperor 
washed his face and' hands and care- 
fully trimmed his nails. Then I took 
off his flannel waistcoat and shirt and 
rubbed his. body all over with a soft 
brush. Then I gave him a friction of 
eau-de-Cologne, of which he used a 
great quantity, as every day he was 
rubbed like this. This health-giving 
practice he learnt in the East. It used 
tO' do him a great deal of good, being, 
in fact, excellent, I then put on his 
thin list slippers, white silk stockings 
(he never wore others), very thin 
drawers, and kerseymere breeches and 
tops, or else tight-fitting trousers of 



TOLENTINO 

the same stuff, and little boots, worn 
halfway up the calf in English fashion. 
On these were small silver spurs ; 
indeed, he wore spurs on all Ms boots. 
Then I put on bis flannel jersey and 
shirt, a very thin muslin tie over a 
black silk stock, a waistcoat of white 
piqu^, and then either a hunting-ooat 
or a grenadier's uniform^ — generally 
the former. When his toilet was com- 
pleted, I gave himi his handkerohief, 
snuff-box, and another little tortoise- 
shell box containing small pieces of 
liquorice. From the foregoling it will 
be seen that the Emperor had to- be 
dressed from head to foot ; he never 
touched a thing, but let himself be 
dressed like a child, attending all the 
while to his business matters. I forgot 
to say that he used a boxwood tooth- 
pick, and a toothrbrush dipped in 
opiiate dentifrice. 

"The Emperor, sO' to speak, was 
born to have a valet. When only a 
general he had as many as three, and 
required as much waiting on as when 
at the height of his fortune. From 
that time onward he always needed all 
the attentions I have just named, and 
it was almost impossible for him to 
do without them. Etiquette made no 
change in this respect ; it increased the 
number of his attendants, and gave 
these new titles, but it could not aug- 
ment the care and attention which he 
received. He rarely submitted to the 
full royal etiquette^ — for instance, the 
Grand Chamberlain never handed him 
his shirt ; once only — at the coronation 
ceremony — he presented him with 
basin and towel. ' ' 

Tolentino, Battle of.— On the 
return of N. from Elba in 1815 Murat, 
King of Naples, returned to his allegi- 
ance to the Emperor, but at the very 
outset of an offensive campaign in 
Italy he was utterly defeated at Tolen- 
tino by the Austrians on 2 May and 
forced to fly the country. 

Tolentino, Peace of.— Bonaparte, 
in his Italian campaign of the French 
Revolutionary Wars, met vv^ith' but little 
resistance from the mercenaries of the 
Papal army, and on 19 Feb. 1797 he 
forced the Pope to sign the peace of 
Tolentino, whereby Avignon, the 
Venaiissin, Bologna, Ferrara, and the 
Romagna were ceded to France, while 



427 



TORBETT 

the Pope engaged to disband his army, 
to pay an indemnity, and to give up 
certain art treasures. 

Torbett, Richard.— A merchant and 
shopkeeper in St. Helena during- N.'s 
captivity there. He had a property 
called Geranium Valley, which was 
close to Longwood, and in this ground 
N. was buried. The council of St. 
Helena granted Torbett an indemnity 
of ;^65o, and an annual subsidy of 
£c^o so long as the body of the Em- 
peror should remain in the tomb. 
Eventually this arrangement was com- 
muted for a capital sum of ;^i,2oo. 



TOURNON 

under Dugommier. On the advice of 
Bonaparte Fort Eguillette was stormed 
and captured by the Republicans on 
17 Dec, while on the same day the 
heights of Mount Faron were carried. 
The capture of these two important 
positions made the harbour untenable 
for the British squadron, and on the 
1 8th the town and harbour were evacu- 
ated by the Allies ; before leaving, 
however, the arsenal and a large part 
of the French fleet were blown up and 
burned, only seven out of thirty-one 
ships-of-the-line being saved to the 
Republic. 




French c±3 A///es m 
■o Ships in harbours 
Scale of Miles 



His widow, it is said, made a small 
charge for showing the tomb to 
visitors. 

Toulon, Siege of. —This siege, 
which commenced at the end of Aug. 
1793, is of special interest owing to the 
circumstance that its successful ter- 
mination was due almost entirely to 
the skill and resource of Napoleon 
Bonaparte, who was in command of 
the artillery, and it was upon this 
occasion that he first came into promin- 
ence. The city was held by a garrison 
composed of 5,000 English troops and 
about 8,000 Spanish, Piedmontese and 
Neapolitans, under the command of 
Lord Mulgrave, while the investing 
army consisted of 40,000 French troops 



THE UAPP* CO . LTD , LOIIDOM. 



Toulouse, Battle of (Peninsular 
War. — The French (40,000) under 
Soult, strongly entrenched to the north 
and east of the town of Toulouse, 
on 10 April 18 14 were attacked by 
52,000 British and Spanish under 
Wellington. Soult was driven back 
into Toulouse, but when Wellington 
advanced on the 12th to invest the city, 
he found it already evacuated and the 
allied army took possession. The 
French lost 3,000 killed and wounded, 
and the Allies about 5,000. 

Tournon-Simiane, Camille de 
(1778-1833).— Chamberlain to N., pre- 
fect of Rome and later of Bordeaux. 
He published some statistical works 
on Rome (two volumes, Paris 183 1). 



428 



TOUSSAINT 

Toussaint I'Ouverture, Pierre 
Dominique (1746-1803).— The negro 
"liberator" of Hayti and St. Domingo 
(q.v.) is said to have been descended 
from an African chief, his father a 
slave in Hayti being the chief's second 
son. The name I'Ouverture was given 
him because of his prowess in battle 
in making gaps in the ranks of the 
enemy — iBreda his first surname being 
discarded. From childhood he was 
remarkable, not only by reason of his 
undoubted abilities, but because of the 
determination with wihich he seized 
every opportunity to gain a good edu- 
cation, the best indeed obtainable in 
the island. In him his master placed 
all confidence, and I'Ouverture, or 
Breda as he was then called, became 
overseer of the negroes of the planta- 
tion. 

In the insurrection of 1791 he joined 
the insurgents, and was appointed 
physician to the forces because of his 
knowledge of medicine and surgery. 
Rapidly rising in influence and power 
by sheer force of his superior intellect 
and will-power, he, of course, incurred 
the hatred and jealousy of the leader, 
Jean Francois, who at last caused his 
arrest on the charge of displaying an 
undue leniency tO' the whites. A rival 
of Jean Francois, Baisson by name, 
thereupon liberated I'Ouverture, but on 
Baisson being killed I'Ouverture again 
served under Jean Francois. He next 
joined forces with the Spaniards, but 
when the French government ratified 
their decree of equality he returned to 
them. In 1796 the French Directory 
recognized his services, and he was 
named commander-in-chief of the 
armies of St. DomingO', but though 
willing to have the advantage of 
French protection, he desired complete 
independence. Following this idea 
with success in 1801, he declared him- 
self governor of St. Domingo for life, 
calling himself the "Bonaparte of the 
Antilles," with power tO' appoint his 
successor. It was this state of affairs 
that determined N. on the St. Domingo 
Expedition (q.v.). L'Ouverture sur- 
rendered to the French forces, and 
some time afterwards was treacher- 
ously sent to France, where he died 
the following year (27 April 1803), at 
the fort of Joux, near Besan9on among 



TRAFALGAR 

the Juras, from the hardships to which 
he had been exposed. There is much 
to admire in this remarkable man, his 
sagacity, his power of leadership, his 
patriotism and passionate devotion to 
the cause of liberty, and he stands out 
in the greatest contrast to the bloody 
and lustful Dessalines. 

Trafalgar, Battle of.— Fought be- 
tween the British under Nelson and 
the French under Villeneuve off Cape 
Trafalgar on 21 Oct. 1805. Ville- 
neuve, unable to enter the Channel, 
steered for Cadiz, where he anchored 
on 20 Aug. ; there he found Colling- 
wood with three ships and tried to 
draw him into the Mediterranean, 
but unsuccessfully. CoUingwood was 
later joined by Sir Richard Bickerton 
with four ships-of-the-line, and subse- 
quently by Sir Robert Calder with 
eighteen. On 14 Sept. N. gave 
orders that the French and Spanish 
ships at Cadiz should put to sea at the 
first favourable opportunity, effect a 
junction with seven Spanish ships-of- 
the-line at Carthagena, sail to Naples 
where they were to disembark a force 
of troops, and if they met a British 
fleet of inferior numbers on the way, 
they should fight a decisive action. 
On the 15th he issued an order replac- 
ing Villeneuve by Rosily, who shortly 
afterwards left for Cadiz. The British 
government dispatched Nelson to take 
over command of the fleet, and he left 
Portsmouth on the 15th and reached 
Cadiz on 28 Sept., bringing three addi- 
tional ships with him. Nelson had 
now thirty-four ships-of-the-line under 
his command, which by necessary with- 
drajwals for refitting and so forth was 
afterwards reduced to twenty -seven. 
Villeneuve learned that Rosily was 
going to supersede him, and resolved 
to attack and put to sea, leaving Cadiz 
Bay on the 19th. He had under his 
command thirty-three sail-of-the-line, 
sailing in five squadrons. He headed 
for the straits of Gibraltar under a 
light westerly breeze. Villeneuve 
knew that Nelson would try to con- 
centrate on a part of his line rather 
than come tO' the attack in the old way 
in a parallel line, but the officers under 
his command were too inexperienced 
to admit of nicety in tactics ; in fact, 
the years of training of the British 



429 



TRAFALGAR 

sailors beg-an to tell. Drifting- into a 
curve which stretched from north to 
south the Allies advanced. At 6.40 a.m. 
the signal was made to form the order 
of sailing- and prepare for battle. 
Colling^vood headed for the Franco- 
Spanish centre. The Royal Sovereign 
was the first British ship to meet the 
enemies' line. This occurred about 
twelve o'clock. The ships of CoUing- 
wood's division then came up. Nelson's 



TREBBIA 

the most furious description. The en- 
g^ag-ement ended in the capture of 
eighteen of the Franco-Spanish vessels, 
the van had practically deserted. In 
the British fleet the loss in killed and 
wounded was 1,690. The loss amongst 
the Allies cannot be stated precisely, 
only eleven of their ships escaped. 

The battle of Trafalgar finally broke 
the naval power of France and thus 
put an end to N.'s visions of colonial 






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Plan of the Battle of Trafalgar 



division headed by himself attempted 
to cut through the enemy between his 
van and centre and to bar his road to 
Cadiz. The Allies have put it on re- 
cord that the British fleet assailed them 
in two lines converging on their centre, 
and that it then carried out a concen- 
tration on this part of their line, but in 
reality the Allied formation was broken 
in two and its rear part was engaged 
by Collingwood's division, the centre 
receiving the severest blows. At one 
time the hand-to-hand fighting was of 



conquest. It was undoubtedly a great 
triumph for British naval organization. 
Try as he might N. never seemed able 
to organize a navy, probably because 
he was so occupied in organizing an 
army. 

Trebbia, Battle of the.— On 17 
June 1799 large French (35,000) and 
Russian (30,000) armies under Mac- 
donald and Suvarov concentrated near 
the Trebbia. Both sides assumed the 
offensive, and very hard fighting took 
place, ending in Macdonald's retreat. 



430 



TRUGUET 



TUSCANY 



The battle was resumed on the follow- 
ing- day, which resulted in the French 
being- again forced back. On the 19th 
both generals once more advanced to 
the attack, and after a desperate con- 
flict which lasted until nightfall the 
victory remained with the Russians, 
who had been reinforced and were 
according-ly better able to afford their 
losses, which were about the same on 
both sides — 12,000 killed and wounded 
in the three days. 

Truguet, Admiral Laurent Jean 
Fran90is (1752-1839).— Had already 
before the Revolution given promise of 
naval ability. In 1791 he visited Eng- 
land for the purpose of studying^ the 
British system of naval org-anization. 
He was hostile to the revolutionary 
spirit of insubordination in the govern- 
ment, was regarded as a suspect and 
imprisoned. He escaped death, how- 
ever, and after the fall of Robespierre 
was made rear-admiral and minister of 
marine, but after the unsuccessful ex- 
pedition to Ireland in 1797 was dis- 
missed from the ministry and sent to 
Madrid as ambassador. He delayed 
his return and was placed on the list 
of emigres, but through the influence 
of Talleyrand was permitted to return 
and was appointed to the Council of 
State in 1801. In the following- year 
he commanded the combined squadron 
of French and Spanish ships at Cadiz, 
but as he disobeyed N.'s orders to 
keep his vessels constantly in commis- 
sion, he was dismissed from that post. 
He wrote a letter to N. strongly advis- 
ing himi to keep the title of First Con- 
sul, "a title to which you have given 
a fame vastly superior to that of either 
king or emperor." In 1804 he refused 
the g-rand cross of the Leg-ion of 
Honour, and for this was dismissed 
from the council of state. But in 1809 
he was appointed maritime prefect at 
Rochefort, afterwards going on the 
same footing to Holland, where he 
was taken prisoner by a party of 
Cossacks. He was created a count by 
Louis XVIII. in 1815, and a peer in 
1819. He was a plain, outspoken 
sailor, courageous but tactless, and 
appears to have greatly irritated N. 
who conceived a strong dislike to him. 
He died at the ag-e of eighty-seven. 



Tudela, Battle o-f (.Peninsular 
War, 23 Nov. 1808).— The opposing- 
armies consisted of 35,000 French 
under Lannes and 43,000 Spaniards 
under Castanos and Palafox. The 
Spanish generals had barely taken up 
their position along^ a range of low hills 
when the French were upon them, con- 
centrating their attack on the Spanish 
right and at the same time piercing 
their centre. The effect of this plan 
was soon felt ; the Spaniards were 
thrown into confusion and were totally 
defeated, losing 5,000 in killed and 
wounded, besides hundreds of prisoners 
and twenty guns. 

Tuscany. — An Italian province 
comprising- the west central portion of 
the country and one of the most pros- 
perous and enlig-htened districts of 
Italy. At the time of the French 
Revolution it was a g-rand duchy under 
Ferdinand III., son of the Austrian 
Emperor. Despite his efforts to main- 
tain a strict neutrality, Tuscany was 
invaded by the French in 1799 and he 
himself forced to quit his capital. After 
this a French provisional g-overnment 
was installed ; but the Pope, the 
clergy, and the g-rand ducal party in- 
cited the people to rebellion, and the 
French, were driven fromi the country, 
while a g'overnment was established at 
Florence in the name of Ferdinand. 
However, in 1800, after the battle of 
Marengx>, the French re-entered 
Florence in triumph, and were accorded 
a warmer welcome than on their pre- 
vious entry. A provisional govern- 
ment on the French model was ag-ain 
set up by Murat. 

In 1 801, by the terms of the Treaty 
of Lun6ville, Tuscany was created a 
kingdom, under the name of Etruria 
for the benefit of Louis, Duke of 
Parma, son-in-law to the King* of 
Spain, with a view to France obtaining 
concessions from that country. Louis 
made but a poor king', ill as he was 
in mind and body, and entirely con- 
trolled by his imperious and super- 
stitious consort, Marie Louise. In 
1803 he died, leaving- an infant son, 
Charles Louis. Thereafter Marie 
Louise ruled as regent until 1807. 

Meanwhile N. was the virtual ruler 
of the kingfdom, imposing- his codes, 
draining- the country of conscripts. 



431 



TUSCANY 

quarteringf his French troops every- 
where. The Queen was not clever 
enough] either to support or success- 
fully tO' oppose his policy, and with 
blind perversity she allowed herself to 
be dominated by priests and monks, 
and to increase the privileg'es of the 
Churoh, while N. was trying- hardi to 
suppress them. At length in 1807 the 
Emperor signed a secret treaty with 
Spain at Fontainebleau, in which he 
compelled Charles IV. to cede Tus- 
cany. By way of compensation 
Charles Louis was to have a princi- 
pality in Portugal. Marie Louise was 
informed (but only when all had been 
arranged) that she was no longer 
queen. On 30 May of the following 
year Tuscany was formally annexed 
by France, and had three places in the 
Senate and twelve in the Legislative 
Body allotted to^ her. The grand duchy 
(as it was once more called) was given 
to Elisa Bacciochi, the sister of N. ; 
but the only powers vested in the 
grand duchess were merely nominal, 
and consisted in passing on N.'s orders 
to the French officials in Tuscany. The 
country was divided into three depart- 
ments, Arno, Ombrone and Mediter- 
ranee, and a "General Government of 
the Departments of Tuscany " was 
formed. The French rule in Tuscany 
was by no means well received by the 
people. This was chiefly on account 
of the conscription. The Tuscan 
population, unlike the Piedmontese, 
were more skilled in the arts of peace 
than in those of warfare, and conse- 
quently the pressing of their young 
men into N.'s service was very dis- 
tasteful to them and weighed against 
many of the advantages accruing from' 
the imperial regime. 

When Bonaparte was defeated in 
1814, Prince Joachim Murat occupied 
the province for a time, afterwards 
ceding it to Austria. In September of 
the same year the Grand Duke Ferdi- 
nand III. returned, and was received 
with joy by the people. His rights, 
which rested on the Treaty of Vienna, 
(1735) had now been recognized by the 
Allied Powers. Thus matters stood 
when the Congress of Vienna turned 
its attention to Tuscany. A com- 
mittee of five (comprising Wessenberg, 
Labrador, Noailles, Nesselrode and 



TUSCANY 

Clancarty) was deputed to consider the 
affairs of Tuscany, Parma and other 
adjacent duchies. The claims of 
Ferdinand III. were opposed by Don 
Pedro Gomez Labrador, representative 
of Spain and champion of the Bourbon 
family, on behalf of Charles Louis, son 
of Louisi, Prince of Parma and the 
Bourbon Marie Louise, who from 1801 
to 1807 had ruled the kingdom of 
Etruria (the grand duchy of Tuscany). 
The claims of Charles Louis, however, 
had been renounced by the House of 
Bourbon in the secret treaty signed at 
Fontainebleau in 1807. Thus Labra- 
dor, who based his claims on the 
Treaty of Madrid (1801), annulled by 
this later treaty, held an unfortunate 
position, which he soon abandoned on 
the advice of Talleyrand. Changing 
his ground, Labrador then claimed for 
the Infante Charles Louis the duchies 
of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, to 
which, as the son of the Prince of 
Parma, he had a better title. How- 
ever, the three duchies had already 
been assigned to the Empress Marie 
Louise, with remainder to her son, by 
the Treaty of Fontainebleau (11 April 
1 81 4), when the claims of the relatives 
of the dethroned Emperor were settled. 
Talleyrand, representing France at the 
Congress, sought to effect a compro- 
mise whereby the son of N. and of 
Marie Louise might be excluded from 
Italy without the number of indepen- 
dent states in that country being in- 
creased. He planned, therefore, to 
give the three duchies to the Infante 
Charles Louis, the Empress Marie 
Louise to be compensated by a pension 
drawn from the revenues of the grand 
duchy of Tuscany ; while Lucca and 
part of Elba were assigned to the 
Grand Duke. 

By the Final Act, however, the three 
duchies were given to the Empress 
Marie Louise, but only for her own 
lifetime; by this means her son, the 
son of N., was excluded from the 
succession. Marie Louise, ex-queen of 
Etruriia, was given the duchy of Lucca, 
which was to revert to the Grand Duke 
of Tuscany on her death and that of 
her son. Ferdinand III., who on the 
return of N. from Elba had temporarily 
absented himself from his province, 
was now reinstated, part of Elba being 



432 



TWO 

added to his domains. He continued 
to reign until his death in 1824. 

Two Cent Revolt, The.— In Aug. 
1786 a rebellion known as the Two 
Cent Revolt broke out in Lyons among- 
the silk weavers, who' desired two' cents 
an ell more pay for their work. At 
the same time the tavern keepers re- 
volted against the enforcement of the 
Banvin, a feudal right imposing a 
heavy tax on the sale of wine. N.'s 
company was dispatched among others 
to the scene of the uprising, but by the 
time he arrived the disturbance was 
practically quelled. He spent a very 
agreeable time at Lyons, which city he 
appears to have quitted with regret 
"to follow," as he wrote his uncle 
Fesch, "his destiny." 



U 



Ulnri.— See Austerlitz Campaign. 
United States of America.— The 

relations of N. with the United States 
of America were for the most part of a 
cordial nature. During the Revolu- 
tionary era in France the United States 
were in high national favour there, 
and much has been written to prove 
that the casting off of English rule by 
the Americans, and the democratic 
republic they founded, was not without 
its significance to the republicans of 
France. In 1793 Jenat, a French 
agent, appeared in America to claim 
the assistance of the United States for 
the French Republic. He attempted 
to commission privateers and raise re- 
cruits with the object of wresting 
Louisiana from Spain ; but Washing- 
ton issued a proclamation of neutrality. 
In the course of the British war with 
France, neutral American vessels fared 
rather badly, and a treaty was signed 
in 1794 which settled this difficulty be- 
tween Great Britain and the United 
States, but it engaged the United 
States against any intervention in the 
war on behalf of France. The national 
policy during the election of 1796 was 
stated as being one which would keep 
the country out of entangling alliances 
with any of the European belligerents. 
When Washington's administration 
had come to an end, the French Direc- 
tory broke off political relations with 



UNITED 

the United States, demanded the abro- 
gation of the treaty with Great Britain 
and a closer sympathy with France. 
President Adams sent Pinckney, Mar- 
shall and Gerry as delegates to the 
French Republic to re-establish the 
former relations with it. The French 
government made clamant demands for 
funds which the Americans refused. 
Their letters tO' friends at home were 
published and war with France became 
a popular cry. In 1798 the treaties 
with France were declared at an end, 
an American army was formed com- 
manded by Washington, and American 
vessels were given letters of mark to 
capture French vessels. A few sea- 
fights took place in which the new 
American navy appeared to advantage. 
In the following year N. came into 
power and renewed the peace with the 
United States. The mission of the 
three envoys above mentioned was 
afterAvards known as the "X Y Z " 
mission, as in their published letters, 
the letters "X " "Y " "Z " were sub- 
stituted for the names of the French 
agents with whom the American envoys 
dealt. One faction existed, that of 
Alexander Hamilton, which considered 
that the only way to consolidate the 
newly acquired powers of the federal 
government was by increasing the war- 
fare against France, but President 
Adams, desirous of peace, accepted the 
overtures of the new Napoleonic 
government and sent the envoys to 
France. In 1803 came the incident of 
the Louisiana Purchase (^ee Loui- 
siana, Sale of), the most significant 
of the relations between N. and the 
young American Republic. In 1806 
the British government forbade Ameri- 
can trade with any country from which 
the British flag was excluded, with the 
object, of course, of striking at the 
Napoleonic system in Europe — allow- 
ing direct trade with the United States 
to Sweden only. The American non- 
intercourse law of I March 1809 pro- 
hibited commercial intercourse with 
Great Britain and France and their 
dependencies, the importation of 
British and French goods and the en- 
trance of British and French vessels 
into any port of the United States. 
This law was to be rescinded in the case 
of either belligerent which should aban- 



2 C 



433 



VALUTINA 

don its attack on neutral commerce, and 
maintained ag'ainst the other. In 1810 
the American government concluded 
that France had abandoned its system 
but N. continued to enforce it in effect, 
although he benefited by the removal 
of the embargo on French goods. It 
will be recalled that subsequent to his 
second abdication N. desired and even 
attempted to escape to the United 
States. Had he done so it is unlikely, 
as he hoped, that he would have in any 
way succeeded in seizing the reins of 
government or in influencing the Re- 
public to take up arms on his behalf. 
See Louisiana, Sale of. 



V 

Vaiutina-Goi'a, Battle of (Rus- 
sian Campaign).— On 19 Aug. 1812 
during the French advance on Moscow, 
a fierce engagement, said to be the 
most obstinate in that campaign, took 
place at Valutina-Gora, between the 
French advance-guard under Ney and 
the rear-guard of the Russian army 
under Touczkoff. The latter were 
forced toi continue their retreat, after a 
loss of 6,000 men, the Russian general 
being taken prisoner. The French lost 
8,000 men. 

Vandamme, Dominique Rene, 
Count (1770-1830).— French general, 
was born at Cassel in Nord on 5 Nov. 
1770. In 1786 he entered the army, 
served in the campaign of 1793, and in 
those of 1794,1795, and 1796, and so 
distinguished himself by his remark- 
able fighting qualities that in 1799 he 
was made a general of division. At 
Austerlitz he led a division of Soult's 
corps, whioh stormed the plateau 
whereon the Russians were esconced, 
and performed brilliant feats of arms 
despite the fact that both N. and Soult 
withheld their support. For this Van- 
damme receivedi the grand eagle of the 
Legion of Honour. In 1806-7 ^^ 
further distinguished himself by re- 
ducing Silesia, and in 1808 he was 
made Count of Unebourg. For a time 
his arms were singularly successful, 
but he met with a serious reverse at 
Kulm in 181 3. When N. was taking 
up a strategic position before the 
battle of Dresden, he charged Van- 



VErdDOiVIE 

damme with the task of cutting off 
the enemy's retreat by way of the 
Pirna road. While making his way 
to the rear of the Allied Army Van- 
damme encountered a Russian force 
under Prince Eugene of Wiirttem- 
burg. The Russians, though beaten 
back, took up a strong position in 
the vicinity of Kulm, where soon 
afterwards they received unexpected 
aid from' a Prusslian corps under 
Kleist. The French fought bravely, 
and none more bravely than Van- 
damme himself, who' was neverthe- 
less defeated and taken captive. This 
disaster completely annulled N.'s 
victory at Dresden. Harshly treated 
on his release, by the Bourbons now 
restored, Vandamme betook himself 
to Cassel. Always faithful toi N., he 
rejoined the Emperor during* the Hun- 
dred Days, fighting with his wonted 
skill and courage at Waterloo. He 
was exiled by the second Restoration, 
but returned in 1824, and died in his 
native Cassel on 5 July 1830. 

Vendome Coiunnn, The. —Was 
erected by N. in the Place Vendiome, 
Paris, to commemorate the achieve- 
ments of the grande armee in Ger- 
many 1805. It is 132 ft. 2 in. high, 
aind is made of the cannon taken fronn 
the enemy. The huge block which 
supports the column is of Corsican 
granite. In form it is a model of 
Trajan's column, and on its sides 
are bas-reliefs by Launay, whilst sur- 
mounting it was a statue of N. On 
the restoration of the Bourbons this 
statue was removed from the top of 
the column and melted down for the 
figure of Henri IV. on the Pont Neuf, 
whilst in its place floated a flag bear- 
ing the lilies of France until the return 
of the Emperor from Elba. On 28 
July 1833 N.'s statue was again placed 
on the summit, this time in more 
modern military costume. A short 
telescope is in the right hand, and the 
left is thrust into thiC" front of the coat 
in the famous and characteristic atti- 
tude. It was unveiled amid great 
enthusiasm, and Louis Philippe had 
himself, in aooordance with public 
demand, to uncover before N. On 
16 May 1 87 1 it was pulled down by 
the Communists "in the name of inter- 
national fraternity," but was restored 



434 



VIAZMA 

by the National Assembly 31 Aug. 
1874, the bronze plates being- recast 
from the old moulds and the statue 
of N, agfain replaced 28 Dec. 1875. 

Viazma, Battle of.— Was fought 
during the French retreat fromi Mos- 
cow on 3 Nov. 18 1 2, between the Rus- 
sian vanguard under Kutusov and the 
French rear-guard under Davout. The 
latter's flank and rear were expoised, 
but the Russian attack was half- 
hearted, and although Davout was 
temporarily cut off from the main 
French army, Eugene Beauharnais 
and Poniatowski came to the rescue 
and enabled Davout to rejoin the 
main body. The French lost about 
4,000 men, besides 2,000 prisoners, 
a:nd the Russians 2,000. 

Victor-Perrin, Claude (1764- 
1841). — Sometimes called Victor, Due 
de Beliuno, and marshal of France ; 
was born at La Marche, in the Vosges, 
in 1764 of humble parents. He entered 
the army as a private in the artillery 
at the age of fifteen, and first distin- 
guished himself at the siege of Toulom ; 
he led the attack on Fort Aiguillette, 
the reduction of which caused the tofwn 
to be evacuated by the Allied Army. 
He rose to be general of brigade in 
the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees, 
and wasi at the siege of St. Elmo and 
all the battles previous to* the Treaty 
of Bale. He later displayed great 
bravery in the Italian campaign, and 
was given a sabre of honour for his 
services at Marengo. 

Victor-Perrin was governor of 
Louisiana for a short period in 1802, 
and was sent as ambassador to Den- 
mark after the peace of Amiens, where 
he remained until war broke out with 
Prussia. He was wounded at Jena, 
and in the following year his bravery 
at the battle of Friedland procured 
him a marshal's baton. On the peace 
of Tilsit he became governor of Berlin. 
In 1808 he joined the army in Spain, 
and distinguished himself in many 
actions. He also took part in the 
campaign in Portugal, where at first 
he met with defeat and had to retreat, 
but having effected a junction with 
another portion of the French Army, 
he ere long retraced his steps and took 
possession of Talavera. 

In 1812 Victor, who had now been 



VIENNA 

made Due de Beliuno, was ordered to 
Russia, receiving the position of corps 
commander, and fought nobly in 
several battles. His corps held the 
honourable position of protecting the 
army during the crossing of the 
Beresina. After taking part in many 
of the earlier battles of the 18 13-14 
campaign, he unfortunately arrived too 
late at Montereau, and for this the 
Emperor formally dismissed him from 
the service. Victor, however, replied 
that, rather than leave the army, he 
would once more serve as a private 
in the ranks, which so touched N. 
that he gave him the command of two 
brigades of his guard. A few days 
later he was wounded at Craonne. 

On the restoration of the Bourbons 
Victor joined their party, and was 
given command of the second military 
division, and did his best to keep his 
troops faithful to the King when N. 
returned from Elba. In this he was 
unsuccessful, so he went to Ghent 
with Louis and remained with him 
until the second Restoration. He was 
then made a peer of France and major- 
general of the royal household ; and in 
1 82 1 he was appointed minister of war. 
On retiring from the ministry in 1823 
he was appointed amhassador at the 
court of Vienna, but never proceeded 
there. In Aug. 1830 Victor gave in 
his adhesion to the government of 
Louis Philippe, and after the revolu- 
tion of that year retired into private 
life. He died in Paris on i March 
1841. 

Vienna, Congress of.— The first 
stepi towards the settlement of Euro- 
pean affairs after the Napoleonic 
wars was taken on i March 1814, 
when the Treaty of Chaumont, signed 
by Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great 
Britain, provided for the holding of 
periodic conferencesi between the re- 
presentatives of these countries in the 
interests of general peace. In pur- 
suance of this design the Congress 
of Vienna was arranged for by the 
terms of the First Peace of Paris 
(30 May 1 814), signed by Russia, 
Prussia, Austria, Great Britain, and 
France. Representatives of all the 
powers engaged in the Napoleonic 
wars were toi be admitted, but a 
secret article of the peace stipulated 



435 



VIENNA 

that France was to be excluded from 
a share lin the partition of territories 
conquered by her deposed Emperor. 
Many of the hopes aroused by the 
prospect of the congress were destined 
to remain unfulfilled. Not only did 
Europe look for a redistribution of 
territory and a readjustment of 
political power, for the abolition of 
the slave trade and the piracy then 
rampant in the Mediterranean ; the 
establishment of an international 
tribunal was confidently expected, 
and hopes were even cherished of 
universal disarmament, with the con- 
sequent inauguration of a perpetual 
peace. What the congress actually 
accomplished, though of a much less 
ambitious character, was nevertheless 
of considerable practical value. The 
opening oonference had been fixed 
for the beginning of Aug., but for 
the convenience of certain sovereigns 
and plenipotentiaries it was deferred 
until the end of September. 

A number of sovereigns appeared in 
person at the congress to safeguard 
the interests of their respective king- 
doms. Among these may be men- 
tioned the Emperor Francis I. of 
Austr'ia, who acted as host to the 
assemblage, the Emperor Alexander 
I. of Russia, and his less capable 
ally King Frederick William III. of 
Prussia. Other sovereigns attending 
the congress were King Frederick 
VI. of Denmark, King Maximilian 
I., Joseph of Bavaria, and King 
Frederick I. of Wiirttemburg, besides 
numerous German princes seeking to 
gain or regain sovereignty. Of the 
plenipotentiaries. Prince Metternich, 
by virtue of his office as Austrian 
minister of state and of foreign affairs, 
was elected president of the congress 
— in his case a position of real as 
well as nominal authority and re- 
sponsibility. He was assisted in the 
representation of Austria by Baron 
von Wessenberg and Friedrich von 
Gentz, the latter secretary of the con- 
gress. France was ably represented 
by the brilliant Prince de Talleyrand, 
who was accompanied by the Due de 
Dalberg, the Comte de la Tour du 
Pin, Alexis de Noailles, and La Bes- 
nardi^re, secretary of the embassy. 
Great Britain sent Lord Castlereagh, 



VIENNA 

with Cathcart, Clancarty and Stewart 
tO' support him. On 15 Feb. 181 5 
Castlereagh' s duties as secretary of 
state for foreign affairs necessitated 
his return to England, when he was 
replaced by Wellington. Spain's one 
plenipotentiary was Don Pedro Go^mez 
Labrador, and Portugal also sent re- 
presentatives. Prince von Harden- 
berg, as first plenipotentiary for 
Prussia, had the assistance of Baron 
Wilhelm von Humboldt and other 
Prussian diplomats. The principal 
guardian of the Russian interests 
was the Tsar himself, but he was 
surrounded by a brilliant group, in- 
cluding Nesselrode and Capodistrias. 
It would be impossible to enumerate 
within a limited space the repre- 
sentatives of smaller states, spiritual 
bodies, towns and private individuals 
assembled at the Congress of Vienna. 
Suffice it to say that, besides those 
powers already mentioned, Sweden, 
Switzerland, the Italian states, the 
German states, the Church of Rome 
and the Catholic Church of Germany 
were represented. 

The mutual attitude of the great 
powers at the beginning of the con- 
gress requires some definition. With 
regard to the main portions of the 
territory to be dealt with (Italy, the 
Netherlands and part of Germany), it 
had already been agreed upon in the 
First Peace of Paris that the four 
allied powers should see to the redlis- 
tribution of these, while France was 
to accept their ruling in the matter. 
The partition of Poland and Saxony 
presented greater difficulties. By the 
terms of the Convention of Kalisch 
(28 Feb. 181 3) between Russia and 
Prussia, the latter country had sur- 
rendered her Polish claims in return 
for the Russian guarantee of ade- 
quate compensation in Germany. The 
Treaty of Reichenbach {z'j June 181 3) 
arranged for the partition of the grand 
duchy of Warsaw between Austria, 
Russia and Prussia. But Prussia evi- 
dently had designs on Saxony, then 
controlled by the "central administra- 
tion of reconquered territories," ap- 
proved by the allied powers and 
presided over by Stein. 

The first concern of the congress 
was to deal with matters of general 



436 



VIENNA 

European interest. For this purpose 
a committee was formed comprising 
representatives of Great Britain, 
Austria, Russia, Prussia, France and 
Spain, while German affairs were to 
be settled by a committee of German 
plenipotentiaries. At the same time 
the four allied powers declared their 
intention of dealing* with Germany, 
Italy and Poland without the inter- 
vention of France and Spain. But 
the arrival of Talleyrand and his re- 
fusal to allow France to be ignored 
put an end to this arrangement. 
The French statesman suggested a 
committee of plenipotentiaries from 
France, Great Britain, Russia, 
Austria, Prussia, Spain, Portugal 
and Sweden, and Ms suggestion was 
finally adopted, the committee being 
designated the "Committee of Eight." 
The first serious business before the 
congress was the Polish-Saxon ques- 
tion. At first it seemed as though 
an amicable settlement of this matter 
might be reached. The partition of 
the grand duchy of Warsaw (Poland) 
between Austria, Russia and Prussia 
according to the terms of the Treaty 
of Reichenbach might have been car- 
ried out without oppO'sition from^ any 
of the powers, while nothing seemed 
to stand in the way of Prussia's an- 
nexation of Saxony. Indeed, the ad- 
ministration of Saxony was transferred 
to Prussia on 8 Nov. However, this 
settlement was prevented by the policy 
of France at the congress. Talley- 
rand, champion of the French Bour- 
bons, had set himself up as protector 
of the interests of the smaller states 
and their ^ legitimate sovereigns; he 
therefore protested on behalf of the 
imprisoned King Frederick Augustus 
against Prussian annexation of 
Saxony, and public opinion in that 
and other German states was strougly 
in his favour. A determined struggle 
ensued, during which Europe was for 
a time on the brink of war. Russia 
desired to see a kingdom of Poland 
established under her protection, while 
Austria was determined to prevent 
this; the annexation of Saxony was 
aimed at by Prussia, who had the 
support of her ally Russia. And the 
solutions of these problems were, as 
has been shown, mutually dependent 



VIENNA 

on one another. Metternich's pro- 
posal that part only of Saxony should 
be annexed by Prussia was rejected 
scornfully by that country. Mean- 
while a Polish army had been mobi- 
lised with the approval of the Tsar, 
and gradually Great Britain and 
Austria came round to the side of 
France. This resulted in a defensive 
triple alliance (3 Jan. 1815) between 
these countries for the purpose of re- 
sisting attack on their joint proposals 
fo'r the settlement of European affairs. 
This alliance was strictly secret, and 
meanwhile the plenipotentiaries of the 
five great powers continued to meet. 
The situation grew very strained and 
war seemed imminent, but the very 
nearness of the calamity gave pause 
to the statesmen engaged in the 
struggle and made them more ready 
foir co-mpromise. Mettemich was the 
first tO' take a step in this direction. 
He suggested that Austria would 
accept a less satisfactory frontier in 
Poland than she had hoped for, and 
would agree to the Prussian annexa- 
tion of a part of Saxony on condition 
that the remainder was restored tO' the 
legitimate monarch. On 11 Feb. the 
five powers finally sanctioned this 
arrangement. Poland was partitioned 
between Austria, Russia and Prussia 
in such wise that Austria and Prussia 
recovered most of their former Polish 
territories, while the rest of the country- 
was established asi a semi-independent 
state under Russian control. Prussia 
received about two-fifths of Saxony, 
though it was only on 18 May that 
the King of Saxony, now reinstated, 
could be brought definitely to sur- 
render even so much of his territory. 

Meanwhile various other settlements 
were made by special committees. In 
Nov. 1 81 5 Genoa was incorporated 
with the kingdom of Sardinia. Swit- 
zerland presented a question of some 
difficulty at the beginning of the 
congress. The numerous conflicting' 
claims of old and new cantons, the 
binding and loosing of federal ties, 
riotous disturbances throughout the 
country, and a bitter struggle between 
the old regime and the new — these 
rendered the Swiss settlement no easy 
task. Yet because the powers were 
largely disinterested in the matter 



437 



VIENNA 

soimethiing- like a solutiom was soon 
arrived at. Finally a confederatio'n of 
twenty-two cantons was formed, in- 
cluding' Geneva, which the house of 
Savoy was induced to relinquish, the 
French department of Valais, and 
Neuchatel. On 29 March the Com- 
mittee of Eigfht agreed toi thiis settle- 
ment, which soime two months later 
was accepted by the Diet of Zurich. 
On 20 Nov. 1 81 5, after the con- 
gress was over, Swiss neutrality 
was g'uaranteed by the five great 
powers. 

An important settlement was that 
of the Netherlands. The main design 
of the congress in this respect being 
the interposition of aj stout barrier be- 
tween France and Germany, the entire 
Netherlands were toi be united into one 
kingdom under the sovereignty of the 
house of Orange, irrespective of racial 
and religious differences. The new 
king'doimi was to include, besides Hol- 
land and Belgium, the duchy of Lim- 
burg, the see of Li^ge and the grand 
duchy of Luxemburg. The affairs of 
Norway, Sweden and Denmark occu- 
pied the coogress but little. In 181 3 
Sweden had surrendered Finland to 
Russia in order to receive Norway 
from^ Denmark, whoi had joined the 
Allies. The latter country, in return 
for the cession of Norway, was to 
have Swedish, Pomerania and the 
Isle of Rug"en, together with an in- 
demnity. The powers were satisfied 
with this arrangement, which les- 
sened the political significance of 
Sweden while increasing" that of 
Russia. However, Bernadotte, Crown 
Prince of Sweden, for a time refused 
to hand over Swedish Pomerania, urg- 
ing the reluctance of Norway to^ the 
. union with Sweden as his reason for 
the delay. 

Spain was another country which 
played but a small part in the 
cong'ress. Her sole representative, 
Labrador, was chiefly concerned with 
the interests of the Etruscan Bour- 
bons, Marie Louise and her son 
Charles Louis. Portugal pressed for 
the surrender of 01iven9a, ceded by 
her to Spain in 1801, but the Spanish 
representative refused the demand. 
Malta remained in the hands of Great 
Britain, while the Order of Malta, 



V VIENNA 

driven from the island in 1788, now 
asked to be compensated elsewhere. 
The powers were disposed to assign 
Corfu to the Order, but the scheme 
was frustrated by the return of N. 
from Elba. 

It was in Italy that Austria ex- 
pected toi satisfy her chief claims, and 
therefore Metternich took a consider- 
able part in the settlement of Italian 
matters. He refused toi consider 
Labrador's proposal that a committee 
should be chosen tO' deal with the 
aifalirs of the peninsula as a whole. 
Separate committees were thus ap- 
pointed for the various; states^ — for the 
Legations, for the Twoi Sicilies, for 
Tuscany, Parma, Piacenza and Gua- 
stalla, and soi on. Tuscany, despite 
the opposition of the Bourbon cham- 
pion, Labrador, was assigned to the 
Grand Duke Ferdinand III., who was 
at the same time an archduke in 
Austria. The duchies of Modena, 
Reggioi and Mirandola were given to 
his son, Duke Francis IV., who' had 
a better claim' than anyone else. 
Austria would seemi to have had 
designs on the Legations as well, 
having, indeed, sent troops to occupy 
them, while France, who' had received 
them by the Treaty of Tolentino 
(1797), was prepared to give them up. 
For a time the fate of these provinces 
hung in the balance, but at length the 
papal representative. Cardinal Ercole 
Consalvi, succeeded in securing them 
for the Holy See. The conflict be- 
tween Murat's claims toi the throne of 
Naples and those of the Bourbon Kinig 
Ferdinand was raised for discussion 
at the comgress'. France, SpaJin and 
Russia favoured the Bourbon interest, 
but Austria had made a treaty with 
Murat early in 181 4 whereby Murat 
was to retain Naples on condition that 
Sicily remained toi Ferdinand. The 
powers therefore agreed toi defer the 
settlement of this question, and ere it 
was dealt with again Murat had swept 
away Austria's obligations to him by 
siding with N. on the latter's return 
from Elba. The duchies of Parma, 
Piacenza and Guastalla were assigned 
toi the Empress Marie Louise, with a 
provision to exclude her son from the 
succession ; and Lucca was given to 
Marie Louise, ex-Queen of Etruria. 



438 



VIENNA 

The task which confronted the 
powers at Vienna of constructing a 
German federal union and providing- 
it withi a constitution was long and 
arduous and full of complications. 
The first stage of the proceedings 
was entrusted to a German com- 
mittee, comprising representatives 
from Austria, Prussia, Hanover, 
Bavaria and Wiirttemburg. On i6 
Oct. 1814 Metternich submitted a 
draft, comprised in twelve articles, 
of a proposed Germanic coinstitution. 
It was suggested that both Prussia 
and Austria should enter the con- 
federation, and that the last-named 
country should preside over the diet, 
to consist of (i) a Directory, (2) a 
council of the heads of circles, and 
(3) a council of the princes and 
estates. Bavaria and Wiirttemburg 
protested against the twelve articles 
as placing; undue power in the hands 
of Austria and Prussia ; and although 
the opposition of Bavaria weakened 
as time went on, Wiirttemburg's 
obstinacy did much toi hinder a 
settlement. The sittings of the com- 
mittee, soi far fruitless, were sus- 
pended on 24 Nov. for five months, 
but its members continued to do some 
useful work. On 10 Feb. 181 5 two 
drafts were submitted toi Metternich 
by the Prussian representatives. These 
proposed that the confederation should 
be governed by an executive represent- 
ing the five principal Germanic states, 
and a legislature representing all the 
governments. But it was only with 
the Final Act that a settlement was 
arranged. 

A matter which occupied the con- 
gress largely was the abolition of the 
slave trade, the prime mover being 
Castlereagh. With the exception of 
Spain and Portugal, all the powers 
were united in the desire to^ abolish 
this traffic. Spain, however, objected 
that eight years, at least, must elapse 
before she could finally extinguish the 
slave trade. A committee composed 
of representatives of the eight powers 
was appointed to deal with the matter. 
On 8 Feb. a declaration was issued 
which involved the final abolition of 
the slave trade, while leaving the 
actual date to be fixed by each country 
for the traffic in its own dominions. 



VIENNA 

Good work was also done by the 
committee on the navigation of rivers, 
which dealt expeditiously with the 
question of free navigation of the 
Rhine and the Scheldt, the Main, 
Neckar, Meuse and Moselle, as well 
as with that of river navigation 
generally. Other committees were 
the statistical committee, to' assist 
territorial redistribution by deter- 
mining the population, or statistical 
value, of the various territories, and 
a. committee to' decide the question of 
precedence among the plenipotentiaries 
at the congress. 

The return of N. fromi Elba resulted 
in a new alliance between the Euro^ 
pean powers. The imminence of re- 
newed hostilities curtailed the delibera- 
tions of the Vienna Congress and 
hastened its settlements. Austria 
united the Italian states under her 
control into the Lombardo'-Venetian 
kingdom. On 3 May the Polish ques- 
tion was finally arranged between 
Austria, Russia and Prussia, and the 
neutrality of Cracow guaranteed. A 
few weeks later the Saxon king agreed 
to the incorporatioo with Prussia of 
a part of his kingdom. On 2*;^ May 
the Swiss Confederation was confirmed 
by the Diet of Zurich. Murat's ill- 
advised stand for N. had meanwhile 
deprived him of the support of the 
powers, and the Neapolitan throne was 
restored to Ferdinand IV. A series 
of conferences on German affairs led 
toi the adoption of the Federal Act 
(8 June 18 1 5), signed by thirty-six 
German governments, to which were 
afterwards added Wiirttemburg and 
Baden (26 July and i Sept. respec- 
tively). The Federal Act provided for 
a loose confederation of German states 
under the presidency of Austria. Each 
member of the confederation was to 
have a constitution of its oiwn, and all 
were to be possessed of equal rights. 
It was obvious toi those concerned that 
the Germanic federal union must be 
accomplished speedily or indefinitely 
postponed ; they choise the former 
alternative, with results that were 
admittedly unsatisfactory and in- 
adequate. 

The Final Act of the Congress, set- 
ting forth the various treaties and 
settlements, was formally adopted oa 



439 



VIENNA 

9 June. Of the Eight Powers, Spain 
alone refused to sign, partly, no doubt, 
fromi a spirit of sullen obstlinacy and 
aloofness which she had shown from, 
the beginning of the congress, and 
partly from a jealous resentment of the 
interference of the powers in Bourbon 
matters. The principal provisions of 
thie Final Act may be b'riefly outlined 
as follows : France had been reduced 
tO' her boundaries of 1792, according to 
the terms of the First Peace of Paris, 
yet toi preserve the balance of power 
in Europe {one of the chiief aims, of the 
congress), it was judged well not to 
weaken her unduly. Her constitution 
was left untouched, and the throne re- 
mained in possession of the Bourbons. 
Belgium! and Luxemburg, Limburg 
and Li^ge were incorporated with 
Holland, under the designation of the 
Kingdom' of the Netherlands, the 
crown of the united kingdom falling toi 
the house of Orange. The partition 
of Poland (the duchy of Warsaw) gave 
Russia control over the major pO'rtion 
of the territory, to be known as the 
Kingdom of Poland. Austria retained 
her former possessions in Eastern 
Galicia, with the salt mines of 
Wliliczka. The gains of Prussia were 
considerable. In addition to her share 
of Poland and Saxony she had secured 
Swedish Pomerania and the Isle of 
Riigen, the grand-duchy of Berg and 
the duchy of Westphalia, and numer- 
ous other territories on both banks of 
the Rhine. On the other hand, 
Prussia had no sea-front on the North 
Sea, and her scattered territory com- 
pared unfavourably with the compact 
kingdom of France. Important addi- 
tions were also acquired by Hanover, 
while Wiirzburg and Asohaffenburg 
were assigned to Bavaria. Frankfort 
was made an Imperial Free City. The 
Federal Act, which immediately on its 
adoption was lincoirporated with the 
Final Act, provided, as has been 
shown, for a loose confederation of 
thirty-eight German states, of whichi 
Austria, Prussia, Denmark and the 
Netherlands joined only for such of 
their territories as were purely Ger- 
man. Austria gained largely, especi- 
ally in Italy and the south. The Final 
Act confirmed her authority over the 
Lombardoi- Venetian kingdom, as pro- 



VIENNA 

claimed by her on 7 April ; it included 
the Valtelline, with Chiavenna and 
Bormio. The kingdoms of Dalmatia 
and Illyria were also erected for 
Austria, the latter comprising Carin- 
thia, Carniola and Trieste (I stria). 
Other Italian settlements were those of 
Tuscany, whichi was guaranteed to the 
Grand Duke Ferdinand ; the Two 
Sicilies, the possession of whose throne 
was confirmed to King Ferdinand IV. ; 
Sardinia, to whose extended boun- 
dariesi the congress! set its seal in the 
Final Act ; the duchies of Parma, 
Piacenza and Gaaastalla, allotted toi the 
Empress Marie Louise ; and the duchy 
of Lucca, assigned tO' the Infanta 
Marie Louise, ex-queen of Etruria, 
The Legations (withi the exception of 
certain: territories on the left bank of 
the Po which fell toi Austria) were 
restored to the Holy See. The results 
of the deliberations of the River 
Navigation Committee were alsoi em- 
bodied in the Final Act. By deciding 
that free navigation must obtain in 
connection with all rlivers! passing 
through several countries, or forming 
their boundaries, the comimittee had 
done great service toi European com- 
merce; provision was made for the 
appointment of another commission, to 
consider the matter in more detail. 
Among the annexes to the Final Act 
was the Declaration (8 Feb. 1815), 
whichi was to abolish the slave trade. 

Despite the fact that very many 
claims were left unsettled and very 
many questions not considered at all, 
there is no doubt that the congress 
successfully accomplished the task that 
lay nearest to its hand' — the difficult 
and delicate task of redistributing 
territory and political power in such 
wise that the balance of power might 
be restored in Europe. It is true that 
its settlements were many of them 
destined to speedy overthrowal, and 
that the revolutions and disturbances 
of the next three or four decades left 
but little trace of its decisions; yet we 
must remember how thorny were some 
of its paths, hoiw full of snares and 
pitfalls. It is not, therefore, a matter 
for surprise that its rulings were at 
the best but hasty and patched-up 
settlements, designed to give Europe 
a breathing space after the long and 



440 



VILLARET 

bitter struggle in which she had been 
engfag-ed. 

Villaret de Joyeuse, Louis 
Thomas (1750 - 1812).— F rench 

admiral; was born in Gasoony of a 
noble house. It was intended that 
he should enter the church, but he 
joined the army, which, however, he 
had to leave very soon owing to an 
affaire d'honneur in which his opponent 
was killed. He then entered the navy, 
served under Suffren in Indian waters, 
and was promoted to the command of 
a frigate. In 1781 he was taken 
prisoner, and was not released until 
1783. He supported the Revolution in 
1789, two years later oommanded the 
Prudente at San Domingo, and in 1794 
was appointed rear-admiral. He was 
at the head of the French fleet in the 
battle of I June (1794), which was 
defeated by a British squadron under 
Lord Howe. Villaret de Joyeuse 
became a member of the Five Hun- 
dred in 1796. He was accused of 
royalist inclinations, andj in 1797 was 
condemned to transportation, which 
sentence, however, he evaded, and 
lived' quietly at Oleron until recalled by 
the Consulate, who appointed him' to 
the command of the fleet which con- 
veyed the French Army to San 
Domingo in 1801. In April 1802 he 
was made captain-general of Martin- 
ique, but seven years later, after a 
gallant defence, he was forced tO' sur- 
render it to Britain. He was given 
the command of a military division by 
N. in 181 1, and was also appointed 
governor-general of Venice, where he 
diedl in 1812, 

Villeneuve, Pierre diaries Jean 
Baptiste Silvestre de (1763-1806). 
— French admiral ; was born at Valen- 
soles, Basses-Alpes, on 31 Dec. 1763. 
At the age of fourteen he entered the 
navy as a garde du Pavilion, and on 
the outbreak of the Revolution sym- 
pathized vi^ith the popular cause, thus 
escaping death or exile. In 1793 he 
became a captain and in 1796 a rear- 
admiral. He took part in the unsuc- 
cessful expedition to Ireland which 
reached Bantry Bay. Later he accom- 
panied the expedition tO' Egypt, his 
flagship being the Guillaume Tell. At 
the battle of the Nile he was in com- 
mand of the rear division, and suc- 



VILLENEUVE 

ceeded in escaping to Malta with four 
ships. For this action he was severely 
censured, and he defended himself on 
his return to Paris by a plausible letter 
to Blanquet-Duchayla. In 1804 N. 
chose him^ to succeed Latouche-Tre- 
ville in the coimmand of the Toulon 
squadron, with orders toi divert the 
attention of Nelson from the coasts 
of Europe and thus leave the Channel 
free for' the attempt on England. 
With this end in view; he sailed for 
the West Indies (17 Jan. 1805), though 
already he had manifested) distaste for 
his task and fears of the result, and 
was only driven to it by N.'s repeated 
and vigorous orders. When at Antigua 
he heard of Nelson's proiximity. 
Villeneuve, however, disembarked his 
troops, and captured a fleet of 
fourteen British merchantmen, after 
which he sailed for Ferrol, accord- 
ing to his orders from N. These 
orders bade himi assemble fifteen 
French and Spanish ships at Ferrol, 
whence he was to make for Brest to 
relieve Ganteaume^ and with this 
powerful fleet make for the Channel, 
At the Azores, however, he fell in with 
a British squadron under Sir Robert 
Calder ; the engagement lasted till 
dark, and two of the Spanish ships 
surrendered to the British. The second 
day after the fight Calder retreated 
northwards, a proceeding for which he 
was censured, and Villeneuve, assem- 
bling the Ferrol squadron, put into 
Corunna. Here he decided to make 
for Cadiz, in spite of the most urgent 
orders from N. tO' proceed to Boulogne. 
Certainly, according tO' N.'s habit, he 
had given Villeneuve an alternative 
scheme which included Cadiz, but only 
to be resorted to in face of an over- 
whelming calamity, a description which 
the engagement with Calder cannot be 
said to fill. A fixed idea possessed 
Villeneuve's mind of preserving his 
fleet quite regardless of the Emperor's 
plans or how they might be affected. 
This idea he only relinquished when 
his pride was stung by tlae intimation 
from the Minister of Marine that he 
was to be superseded by Admiral 
Rosily. Villeneuve thought to retrieve 
his fortunes by a brilliant victory, 
though the chances of such were prac- 
tically nil, as he must have knowji. 



441 



VIMIERA 

Accordingly he left Cadiz, and on 
21 Oct. 1805 offered battle at Cape 
Trafalgar. The fate he thus sought 
was far more disastrous than could 
have overtaken himi in obeying N.'s 
orders. Out of thirty-three sail-of-the- 
line he lost eighteen, and though 
Villeneuve showed personal courage of 
the highest order, it was useless in 
face of his lack of strategic skill. His 
flagship, the Bucentaure, was captured 
and he himself was taken prisoner to- 
England. In April 1806 he was per- 
mitted toi return toi France,, but learn- 
ing that he could hope for nothing 
fromi N., he committed suicide at an 
inn at Rennes on 22 April 1806. 

Vimiera, Battle of (Peninsular 
War 1808).— On 20 Aug. the Allies, 
consisting of 18,000 British and 
Portuguese troops with 18 guns, under 
Wellesley were encamped! on a plateau 
to' the north-east of the village of 
Vimiera. On the following day 14,000 
French with 20 guns under Junot 
advanced toi the attack, but after a 
gallant fight they were defeated at all 
points and driven off with a loss of 
about 2,000 men and 13 guns, while 
the Allies lost about 800. Shortly after 
this battle the French evacuated 
Portugal under the Convention of 
Cintra. 

Vinkovo, or Tarutino, Battle of 
(Russian Campaign). — Kutusov with 
a Russian Army had taken up a posi- 
tion at TarutinO', which commanded 
the French left flank under Murat at 
VinkovO'. On the moirning of 18 Oct. 
181 2 Kutusov attacked and severely 
handled the French Army, and N. then 
g-ave orders for the retreat, which 
ended so disastrously, toi begin. 

Vittoria. — The battle of Vittoria, 
fought on 21 June 1813, was the last 
battle of the Peninsular War of 181 3, 
and finally broke French rule in Spain. 
The French Army, numbering 55,000, 
under Joseph Bonaparte, lay on the hills 
to the southi-west of the tO'wn of Vit- 
toria, while the Allied troops, consisting 
of British and Spanish (80,000), under 
Wellington confronted them to the 
north. After heavy fighting the 
French were defeated at all points and 
driven through the town — their retreat 
rapidly developing into a rout. They 
lost 7,000 men and practically all their 



WALCHEREN 

guns and baggage, while the Allied 
losses amounted to 5,000. Wellington 
gave much credit to the Spanish troops 
for their part in this affair. 



W 



Wagram. — The battle of Wagram, 
one of the greatest of the Napoleonic 
campaigns if the numbers of the com- 
batants be taken intoi account, was 
fought on 6 July 1809 between the 
French under N. and the Austrians 
under the Archduke Charles. The 
French numbers are given as 181,700 
men, including 20,000 cavalry, and 
450 guns; and the Austrians 128,600, 
including 14,600 cavalry, and 410 
guns. The latter made a stubborn 
stand, but finally had to retreat, which 
they accomplished in good order, being 
outnumbered and outgeneralled. The 
losses were colossal : French, 23,000 
killed and wounded, 7,000 missing, 11 
gunsi and 12 eagles and colours; Aus- 
trians, 19,110 killed and wounded, 
6,740 missing, 9 guns and one colour. 

Walcheren Expedition. — Wal- 
cheren is an island at the mouth of the 
River Scheldt, Holland, and was the 
scene of an unfortunate expedition in 
1809, which brought nothing but 
ridicule and loss to^ the British. Austria 
was then preparing to fight N., and 
her chief hopesi of support lay in the 
Peninsular War and a possible British 
descent upon Hanover, where unrest 
was simmering. Yet Britain and 
Austria were still technically at war 
with eachi other, for the conclusion of 
peace was delayed for an interminable 
period considering the interests at 
stake. The preparations for the ex- 
pedition were ludicrously unguarded, 
and at the end of July (28 July 1809), 
when the ratification: of peace at last 
arrived in London fromi Vienna and 
the ships set sail, the French journals 
could announce that Walcheren was 
the point of attack. Official 
favouritism! gave the command of 
40,000 troops toi the Earl of Chatham, 
the fleet being under Sir Richard 
Strachan, and consisting of 35 ships 
of the line and 200 smaller vessels, 
principally transports. Instead of 
making straight for Antwerp, the vital 



442 



WALEWSKI 

point, the Earl of Chatham spent 
valuable time bombarding- Flushing", 
taking- it on 15 Aug. But by this time 
it was useless to pToceed to^ Antwerp, 
for that fortress, being' now fully pre- 
pared, beat him off, and he was forced 
to retire tO' the Island of Walcheren 
and its fever-laden swamps, where N. 
had formerly refused toi send his 
soldiers. Noi sug^g^estion on the part 
of the naval commanders nor urging 
on the part of the officers had been 
able toi arouse the Earl to decisive 
action, and at last he was obliged toi 
return withi a poor remnant of his 
force, the few. vi^hom disease) and 
climate had spared. The place was 
evacuated 23 Dec. 1809. The climax 
of the farce was* reached when the. 
commanders were acquitted after a 
court-martial. The House of Commons 
instituted an inquiry, and Lord Chat- 
ham resigned his' post of master- 
g'eneral of the! ordnance to avoid 
greater disgfrace ; but the policy of the 
ministers in planning^ the expedition 
was approved, though it had led to- 
such terrible loss of men and treasure. 
An epig-rami of the time put the episode 
aS' foUows : 

"Lord Chatham with his sabre drawn 
Stood waiting" for Sir Richard 

Strachani ; 
Sir Richard longing- to be at 'em. 
Stood waiting- for the Earl of 
Chatham." 

The failure of this expedition was 
one of the causes of the recriminations 
between Canningf and Castlereagh, 
whoi at last resigned office and fought 
a duel (1809) in which Canning" was 
wounded. 

Walewski, Alexander Florian 
Joseph Colonna, Comte (1810-68).— 
The son of N. and Marie, Comtesse 
Walewski ; was born at Walewice near 
Warsaw on 4 May 18 10. In 1814 
he was- taken by his mother toi visit 
N. at Elba. He was educated in 
Poland, but at the age of fourteen ran 
away to London on refusingf to^ enter 
the Russian Army, and finally made 
his way toi Paris, where the French 
Government denied the right of the 
Russian authorities in their claim, for 
his extradition. Under Louis Philippe 
he was sent to Poland in 1830, and 



WARTENBERG 

there became identified with the 
national movement. The leaders of 
the revolution made him the bearer of 
their mission to London, but on the 
failure of the Polish rising- he returned 
to France and took out letters of 
naturalisation. He then entered the 
Frenchi Army and served for soime time 
in Algiers. Having- for long been 
attracted to literature, he determined 
toi devote himself to writing, and there- 
fore resigned hisi commission in 1837. 
He wrote both for the stage and press, 
and is said toi have collaborated with 
Dumas the elder in Mademoiselle de 
Belle-Isle. In 1840 L'Ecole du Monde, 
a comedy by him, was produced at the 
Theatre Francais. He had started a 
paper, Le Message? des Chamhres, 
whichi Thiers took over in 1840, and 
sent himi on an embassy toi Egypt. 
Again, under the Guizot ministry, he 
proceeded to Buenos Aires in order to^ 
co-operate withi the British representa- 
tive, Lord Howdein. Under Louis 
Napoleon; his career was assured, and 
he was chosen to' be envoy-extra- 
ordinary tO' Florence, Naples and 
London, where he announced the coup 
d'etat toi Lord Palmerston. In 1855 
Walewski became a senator and also 
minister of foreign affairs, and the 
following" year acted as French pleni- 
potentiary at the Congress of Paris. 
In i860 he left the Foreign Office and 
was made minister of state, holding' 
this post till 1863. He entered the 
Corps Legislatif in 1865, and owing- 
to' the Emperor's interest was made 
president of the Chamber, but two 
years later the members rose against 
his ruling and he went back to the 
Senate. In 1866 he was created a 
duke. He died at Strassburg on 
2^^ Oct. 1868. He was a member of 
the grand cross of the Leg<ion of 
Honour and of the Academy of Fine 
Arts. 

Wartenberg, Battle of.— At the 
beginning- of Oct. 1813 a French force 
of 18,000 men and 32 guns under 
Bertrand took up a very strong* posi- 
tion at Wartenberg on the left bank 
of the Elbe. On the 3rd Bliicher, who 
was in command of the Allied Army 
(65,000), succeeded with g^reat diffi- 
culty in breaking through the French: 
position at practically the only vulner- 



443 



WATCHES 

able point, and Bertrand was forced 
to retreat, thus leaving- the passagfe 
of the Elbe free for the Allies. Both 
sides, more especially the Prussians, 
lost heavily. 

Watches. — Says Constant : " The 
Emperor had several watches by 
Brdquet and Meunier, of very simple 
make, the face quite plain and the 
case of gold. M. Las Cases speaks 
of a gold watch lin a double case and 
marked with ' B,' which the Emperor 
always had on his person. I never 
knew of such a watch, though I took 
charge of all his jewellery for some 
years, even of the Crown diamonds. 
The Emperor often broke his watch 
when he used to fling it doiwn any- 
where in his bedroom. He had twoi 
alarm-clocks, made by Meunier, one 
in his carriiage and the other beside 
his bed." 

Waterloo, Battle of.— This 
famous battle commenced at 11.30 on 
18 June 1 81 5. The Allied Army num- 
bered 29,800 British and 37,800 Dutch, 
Belgians and Germans, with 156 guns, 
and was commianded by Wellington ; 
while N. massed French troop^s to the 
amount of 74,000 with 246 guns. The 
opposing forces lay oni dither side of 
a slight depression in the ground. The 
actual fighting began with a series of 
heavy charges by the French infantry, 
supported by artillery fire, against the 
British positions. These were with- 
stood, and later in the day the Allies 
alsoi broke a long succession of furious 
cavalry charges led by Ney. Towards 
five 0''clock the Prussians under 
Bliioher arrived on the field to the rear 
of N.'s army, and by sunset the 
Frenchi front was pierced and their 
army was converted into a flying 
rabble. In lignominious flight, the 
French were pursued by the Prussian 
troops, who' seven times drove them 
fromi attempted bivouacs. 25,000 of 
their number lay dead and wounded 
upon the field, some thousands were 
prisoners, and practically all the 
French artillery was lost. The Allies' 
losses amounted to about 16,000 killed 
and wounded. See Waterloo Cam- 
paign. 

Waterloo Campaign (1815).— On 
landing from Elba (i March 1815) N. 
was speedily to realize that however 



WATERLOO 

pacific his intentions the great powers 
of Europe could not be brought to 
countenance his occupation of the 
throne of France. Each power imme- 
diately bound itself to maintain an 
army of 150,000 in the field until such 
time as the universal enemy was finally 
crushed. To face this aggregation of 
600,000 men the Emperor had merely 
the army whichi he had found main- 
tained by Louis XVIH. on his return. 
But addressing himself to the task of 
the reorganization, or rather creation, 
of a new national force, and by utiliz- 
ing every spare moment of the brief 
time at his disposal, he had by i June 
succeeded in mobilizing, training and 
equipping a force of 360,000 men, one 
half of which was immediately avail- 
able for service in the field. It was 
by no means his policy to deliver the 
first blow of the war or in any manner 
toi precipitate hostilities, or else he 
might have easily crushed such of the 
Allied forces as were then in occupa- 
tion in Belgium. But hei was desirous 
of showing that he did not wish for 
war, and that if it came it would not 
be through his instrumentality. He 
had but one ally — ^Murat, who, plung- 
ing into war with characteristic reck- 
lessness, was worsted at Todentino 
(2-3 May) and forced to fly to France, 
where he was refused an audience by 
his imperial brother-in-law, who thus 
— • short-sightedly enough — deprived 
himself of the most brilliant cavalry 
leader in a campaign in whichi cavalry 
was destined to play a part of very 
con siderable impiortance. 

N.'s task was the defence of the 
French frontier fronn the North Sea to 
the Mediterranean, and along this 
frontier for the most part his forces 
were distributed. The first corps 
under D'Erlon were stationed between 
Lille and Valenciennes, the second 
under Reille between Valenciennes and 
Avesnes, Vandamme with the third 
corps was in the neighbourhood of 
Rocroi, the fourth under Gerard was 
at Metz, thie sixth under Lobau at 
Laon, Mortier with the Imperial Guard 
was at Paris, and Rapp at Strassburg 
with the V. corps. The south-east 
frontier was guarded by Suchet, Brune 
and Lecourbe with 18,000 men. 

Sensible of the danger they incurred 



444 



WATERLOO 

of sustaining- defeat in detail, the 
Allies had resolved that noi invasion of 
France should take place until their 
forces w^ere capable of taking; united 
action. Welling-ton and Bliicher had 
already massed their forces in Belgium, 
the Rhine frontier v^as threatened by 
an Austrian Army of over 200,000 
men under Schwartzenberg, and 
150, 000 R u s - 



WATERLOO 

from the Scheldt to the road which 
links Charleroi with Brussels ; he 
based his operations upon Ostend 
and had his headquarters at the 
capital. Bliicher's base was at 
Coblentz, on the Rhine, and it com- 
manded all eastern Belgium from Wel- 
lington's outposts to the Meuse, with 
headquarters at Namur. The junction 




sians under 
Barclay de 
Tolly were 
pressing west- 
wards at the 
traditional 
snail 's-pace of 
the Muscovite. 
The Allies in 
Belgium were 
to await the 
onset of the 
Austro - R u s - 
sian masses on 
the Rhine, this 
attack to be 
followed by 
steady pressure 
on Paris, where 
they hoped the 
last scene of 
the bloody 
world - drama 
which had not 
permitted 
Europe to un- 
harness herself 
for twenty 
years would be 
enacted. This 
plan, simple, 
even crude, 
was speedily 
discovered by 
N., who at 
once resolved 
to strike before 
concerted 
action on the part of the Allies became 
practicable. Relying, as ever, upon 
superior mobility, he planned to march 
against Wellington and Bliicher, and 
these defeated, to turn on part of the 
Allied force engaged in the invasion of 
the Rhine. 

Wellington and Bliicher practically 
divided Belgium between them. The 
British leader held the western half 



G.PhiUfS&Seii 



ifot^ •"Th&TrttuifL^hintUr canjCinius doe Wfor o^utfim, Ot^niiums 2f>^ passing 3m,Jf.oFTIbjLencijeTa\£» 

Sketch Map of the French-Belgian Frontier, 1815 



between the armies thus seemed to N» 
the most promising point d'appui. 

The characteristics of the two great 
Allied leaders in Belgium were indeed 
strangely diverse. Wellington was 
the typical English aristocrat of his 
day, stiff, unbending, narrow in out- 
look, sarcastic and not a little un- 
generous, but shrewd, painstaking to 
a degree, resolute and contemptuous- 



445 



WATERLOO 

of danger, throug-h his very pride. 
Bliicher was the Prussian hussar par 
excellence, clumsily dashing, dissolute, 
coarse, almost bestial, yet skilful in 
battle, with a skill that partook mo^re 
of cunning than capability, relentless 
in method, ruthless to a fallen 
enemy. His military abandon and 
brute courage had won him the 
sobriquet of "Vorwaerts," which 
appears to have been a watchword 
with him. Such were the men whO' 
were opposed to the greatest natural 
commander the world has ever seen. 
Attempts have been made to draw a 
•comparison between Wellington and 
N., almo'st invariably to the latter's 
-discredit. If it is possible tO' com- 
pare insular narrowness with a 
comprehensive and cosmopolitan 
humanity, political shrewdness with 
true statesmanship, generalship with 
military genius, and "superiority" 
with true nobility of character, then 
compared the twO' men may be, but 
as the feat as presented is impossible 
of performance, and as the virtues 
and even the vices of the characters 
tinder consideration are on entirely 
different planes, the attempt must end 
in a reductio ad ahsurdiim. As well 
attempt to compare the successful 
with the epical, the useful with the 
heroic, Scipio, the marshal of Romans, 
with Hannibal, the creator of men of 
Punic spirit out of barbarians who 
knew not Carthage. 

N.'s point of attack, then, was the 
line between the Allies. The scheme, 
like all the military ideas which ema- 
nated froim that master mind, was 
bold to excess. It would drive an 
iron wedge between the British and 
Prussian forces which, in any event, 
would require at least three days to 
concentrate. On the other hand, in 
the event of the Allies being able to 
concentrate, the French Army would 
have two hoistile fronts toi defend. 
The plan depended greatly on secrecy. 
The Army of the North was to mass 
about Charleroi in three sections, and 
the advance of these was carefully 
screened by accidents of ground in 
order that the Allies might not be 
alarmed. 

N. left Paris on ii June, and 
Gerard with the IV, corps left Metz 



WATERLOO 

on 6 June. The Emperor had con- 
centrated 124,000 men at Beaumont, 
Sabre and Philippeville in three days 
without arousing a single suspicion in 
the minds of the Allied commanders, 
whose troops were widely dispersed. 
But all was not well with the French. 
At least 50,000 men who should have 
been with the Emperor had been 
withdrawn to distant and unimportant 
positions. Such men as- he com- 
manded were veteran troops of the 
finest quality for the most part, but 
he was by noi means fortunate in his 
leaders. Soult, as chief of staff, was 
unfitted for his position, and Grouchy 
and Ney possessed insufficient strate- 
gical ability to enable them to play 
important parts in such a campaign. 
Clausel, Suchet, Murat were either 
unemployed or in disgrace. But that 
faithful and acute leader, Davout, was 
in Paris organizing the army. The 
day of the paladins was past; but 
Vandamme, D'Erlon, Lobau, and 
Kellermann, if not possessed of 
marked military ability, were solid 
and dependable, though unimaginative, 
and comprehended the intricacies of 
the warfare of the nouveau siecle. 

Moving towards the Sambre at 
Charleroi, it was understood that one 
wing was to be advanced against 
Wellington and another against* 
Blucher, the reserve being held in 
readiness to strike on either side as 
opportunity dictated. But Vandamme, 
with the III. corps, was held back 
by an accident to a dispatch rider, 
and Gerard was delayed by faulty 
concentration. The outposts with 
whom the French came into' contact 
fought with great obstinacy, with the 
object of keeping back the French on 
Charleroi, their aim being to give time 
to Blucher to concentrate. The pas- 
sage of the Sambre at Charleroi and 
Marchienne required the personal 
attention of N. and the utmost efforts 
of the Young Guard ere they were 
stormed. The retreating Prussians 
were followed up on the roads lead- 
ing to Quatre Bras and Fleurus. 
Ney, who had just taken over com- 
mand of the left Wing, was ordered 
to _ drive the Prussians out of Gos- 
selies, some four miles north of 
Charleroi, which he duly effected, 



446 



WATERLOO 

only to find them rallying* at Ligfny. 
N. and Grouchy were meanwhile in- 
specting* a Prussian position at Gilly, 
a couple of miles east of Charleroi. 
The reconnaissance completed, the 
Emperor ordered Grouchy to take the 
positioin with the rig-ht wing", the com- 
mand of which he made over toi him, 
returning himself to Charleroi with the 
intention of hurrying the forces under 
Vandamme and others over the Sambre, 
so that the gap between the Allies should 
be filled up as swiftly as possible. Once 
Vandamme was across, N. ordered 
him to proceed- to the assistance of 
Grouchy at Gilly. But the Allied 
headquarters were not quite caug-ht 
napping-, Bliicher, whioi was nearest 
the frontier, had vivid recollections 
of the Napoleonic method, and at once 
issued oommandsi for concentration at 
Sombreffe, only a mile or two noirth 
and east of where his men had 
rallied at Ligny. Biilorw, puzzling" 
over Gneisenau's pedantic instruc- 
tions, failed to comprehend the chief 
of staff's precise intentions, and re- 
mained with the IV. corps where 
he was until the i6th. Thielemann 
and Pirch, with the third and second 
corps, marched promptly towards the 
point of concentration, so that Bliicher 
was fairly well supported. Billow's 
absence notwithstanding. 

Meanwhile the troops under Wel- 
lington's command were in a less 
enviable position. It was late on the 
afternoon of the 15th when Welling- 
ton received news at Brussels of the 
enemy's advance. His first order was 
tO' concentrate at the appointed ren- 
dezvous, and his opinioin was that N. 
would try to turn his right flank and 
cut him off from communication with 
his base. Bliicher had seen that 
N., instead of separating him from 
Wellingfton, might possibly succeed 
in pushing the British forces back 
upon the Prussian lines, and with this 
possibility in view he concentrated im- 
mediately upon his inner and left flank, 
a movement in which he was after- 
wards seen to be fully justified. Wel- 
lington failed to perceive the danger 
of neglecting such a course, and by so 
doing laid his ally open to the greatest 
peril. Absolutely no plan had been 
concerted between the Allied leaders 



WATERLOO 

in view of the possibility of a sud- 
den attack. Practically everything 
was left to chance, and if Bliicher 
was tolerably careful of his own 
dispositions, Wellington was quite 
ag-reeable to "muddle through" in 
the time-honoured English fashion. 
This charg-e cannot, however, be 
levelled at Wellington's immediate 
Allies. Had Prince Bernhard not re- 
tained his position at Quatre Bras, 
Ney would have encountered no op- 
position whatever to his advance; as 
it was he was forced to call a halt 
and report to his master. 

But there was muddling elsewhere 
than in the British headquarters. Van- 
damme and Grouchy were debating- as 
to how best to attack the Prussian 
brigade at Gilly. They proceeded to 
debate the question until the Emperor 
arrived in person, and although it was 
late in the afternoon he ordered and 
pushed forward the attack. The 
artillery poured a heavy fire upon 
the Prussians, and then Vandamme' s 
men charg-ed home with the bayonet, 
sweeping- the Prussians before them 
like chaff, further pursuit being left 
to the cavalry. Grouchy succeeded in 
pushing" on toi Fleurus, where he came 
into contact with Bliicher's men, but 
nigfht had fallen and a halt was called. 

At this stage, althoug-h Wellington 
had only succeeded in retaining a hold 
on Quatre Bras, Bliicher had managed 
to hold almoist intact the territory in 
which he had arranged to concentrate. 
Col. Grant, Wellington's intelligence 
officer, had warned him; of a French 
advance, but General Dornberg, who 
had received the message at the out- 
posts, sent it back with the comment 
that he was convinced of the contrary, 
so that the Duke was thus robbed of 
Grant's important information. The 
French Army was now definitely 
organized in two* wings and a reserve, 
which latter could be brought into 
action on either wing as circumstances 
necessitated ; each wing was to fasten 
upon one of the Allied armies and re- 
tain its hold until the reserve had time 
to coime up and assist it to destroy the 
enemy upon which it had laid hold. N. 
hoped that the Allies would attempt a 
forward concentration, that they would, 
for example, mass at Quatre Bras and 



447 



WATERLOO 

Sombreffe, and he had thrown out ten- 
tacles which would fasten upon that 
Ally who first attacked. At nightfall 
on the 15th the French Army was in 
a square whose sides measured twelve 
miles each, so placed that it could with 
equal ease be directed against the 
English or the Prussians, 

But Wellington's troops were noiw 
on the move. Prince Bernhard had 
been reinforced by Perponcher's divi- 
sion, and towards Quatre Bras the 




Duke directed his reserve. As for 
Bliicher, he was busily engaged in 
taking up a position to the south of 
the Namur-Nivelles road, so that he 
might be enabled to keep in touch 
with Wellington at Quatre Bras, and 
keep open the Namur road so that 
Billow might effect a junction with 
him. 

N. had written to Ney from Charle- 
roi stating that his general principle 
in the campaign was to divide his army 
into two wings and a reserve, the latter 
to be formed of the guard. Only on 



WATERLOO 

the wing on which the reserve was 
brought into action was a decisive 
result to be aiimed at. He sent an 
advance-guard as far as Gembloux 
for the purpose of getting into touch 
with Bliicher, and he sent the reserve 
to Fleurus to reinforce Grouchy, whoi 
would probably first come into touch 
with Bliioher's troops. If things went 
well in that quarter the reserve was to 
be sent westwards to assist Ney at 
Quatre Bras. Ney, who was to mass 
at that point, was to 
attempt to link his forces 
with those of Grouchy, so 
that a united march could 
be made upon Brussels. A 
disjunction between the 
Allies would then have been 
totally effected, and they 
could have been destroyed 
lin detail. Ney was rather 
dilatory at Quatre Bras, and 
made no attempt to capture 
the cross-roads there, which 
might quite easily have been 
done. Reports, too, came 
from Grouchy at Fleurus 
that the Prussians were 
moving from the direction 
of Namur. The Emperor 
ordered Ney, on hearing 
that he was in touch with 
certain hostile forces, to 
concentrate and to strike 
at the enemy in front of 
Mm. N. then betook him- 
self to Fleurus, leaving 
Lobau with the VI. corps at 
Charleroi. From a wind- 
mill he could see the Prus- 
sians disposed in parallel 
line to the Namur road as 
if for the purpose of cover- 
ing a forward concentration. Writing 
to Ney, he ordered him to seize the 
position at Quatre Bras, and said that 
he himself would attack the corps 
which he saw in front of him. The 
first wing to succeed would then come 
to the assistance of the other. 

Meanwhile Wellington and Bliicher 
had met at Brye, about two and a half 
miles west of Sombreffe, Reconnoi- 
tring the French positions in their 
front, they concluded that no serious 
opposition was to be met with at 
Quatre Bras, and it was arranged 



448 



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that if Wellington was not attacked 
he was to bring- his army to Bliicher's 
assistance at Ligny. On returning to 
Quatre Bras, however, the English 
commamder found matters in a rather 
critical condition there. The Prince of 
Orange, whoi was in command, with 
about 8,000 men, had disposed them 
so carefully that he had managed to 
a great extent to hold Ney in check 
until 2 P.M., when an advance in mass 
was made by the French. The Dutch- 
Belgians, who held a position to the 
east of the Brusselsl road, were driven 
in, and the whole defence would have 
collapsed had not Picton with the V. 
division from Brussels and Van Mer- 
len's cavalry from Nivelles come up. 
Just then Wellington returned and 
took over the command. Picton suc- 
ceeded in stopping the French advance. 
Jerome's division of Reiile's corps was 
now thrown intoi the wood of Bossu in 
order to keep the French left flank free, 
and there they steadily made ground. 
Picton, however, retained his position. 
The Brunswickers now reached the 
scene of hostilities, when almost imme- 
diately the Duke of Brunswick, theiir 
commander, was mortally wounded 
whilst leading a charge, and their 
attack failed. Shortly after four 
o'clock Ney received the Emperor's 
order to attack the enemy in front 
of him, and in obedience to it o^nce 
more pushed forward, but Wellington 
was again reinforced about five o'clock 
by Alten's division from' Nivelles, and 
Ney saw dearly that if he was to 
capture Quatre Bras he must wait 
until d'Erlon came to his assistance. 

The battle of Ligny was raging some 
six miles to the south-east, and Ney 
now received the news that d'Erlon's 
corps had, without receiving any orders 
to do so, moved in that direction to 
help the French there. In the midst 
of this consternation he received an 
order from N. to seize Quatre Bras 
and then turn eastwards to finish the 
discomfiture of Bliicher at Ligny. 
Furiously indignant at d'Erlon's 
action, and in great distress, Ney 
sent an imperative message to 
d'Erlon to returni at once, imme- 
diately afterwards ordering Keller- 
mann to charge with his brigade 
of cuirassiers against Wellington's 



WATERLOO 

troops. Kellermann charged and 
overthrew the British regiment imme- 
diately opposed to himi, but as he was 
in no way supported he was finally 
beaten back, and hiS' attempt to gain 
the cross-roads ended in falilure. Ney 
now received another message from the 
Emperor to the effect that d'Erlon 
must be permitted to carry out the 
movement in which he was at that 
time engaged. The officer who bore 
the message to Ney attempted to conr 
vince him of the vital necessity of the 
Emiperor's order being acceded to, but 
Ney bluntly refused and, in a furious 
passion, quitted the messenger's side 
and plunged into the battle. Cooke's 
division, of the guards nO'W coming up, 
Wellington's forces were as 33,000 to 
Ney's 22,000. The British commander 
now attacked along the whole line, and 
at the end of the day he had driven the 
French back as far as Frasnes, whence 
they had started that morning. The 
British and their Allies had lost 4,700 
men, and the French 4,300. D'Erlon 
arrived at the French position at nine 
o'clock at night, and, considering that 
he was still under Marshal Ney, left 
one division at Wagnel^e and wlith- 
drew. Had he been present at Quatre 
Bras there could have been no dubiety 
as to the result, for the British and 
their Allies would have been crushed. 
On the other hand, had d'Erlon been 
at Ligny, Bliicher would undoubtedly 
have been annihilated. 

While Wellington was engaged with 
Ney at Quatre Bras a bitter fight had 
been contested between Grouchy and 
Bliicher around the village of Ligny, 
some six miles away. At first N. was 
not clear as to the nature of Bliicher's 
dispositions, but as these became more 
obvious he realized that a decisive 
battle must be fought. With his L 
corps Bliicher was holding the villages 
of Ligny, Brye and St. Amand ; the 
IL corps was massed directly 
behind his centre ; and the IIL on 
his left. The whole position was un- 
doubtedly an exposed one, covered by 
wood and situated on a slope where 
the movements of every unit were dis- 
tinctly visible. N. resolved to attack 
Bliicher's centre and right with the 
corps of Vandamme and Gerard, the 
Prussian left to be held with Girard's 



2 D 



449 



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divlision and the cavalry of Excel- 
mann's and Pajol. Milhaud and the 
g'uard were stationed at Fleurus, per- 
haps a mile and a half away. Lobau, 
too, was at hand. The attempt was 
to outflank the Prussians, which un- 
luckily for the Emperor he decided to 
do with a corps (d'Erlon's) which he 
had placed under the orders of Ney, 
who was by no means a strateg'ist, 
and who, as once before at Bautzen, 
might well fail to comprehend the 
exact nature of the imperial orders. 



WATERLOO 

kept in reserve near Fleurus, behind 
the imperial quarters at the mill of 
Navaau. N. bad written to Ney re- 
questing- him, after achieving a suc- 
cess at Quatre Bras, to move to his 
assistance at Ligfny, and later directed 
him to send d'Erlon's corps tO' Ligny. 
Either those orders were not phrased 
with sufficient clarity or else Ney was 
incapable of comprehending them. In 
any case, General Lab^doyfere under- 
took the detachment of d'Erlon's corps 
himself, with the result that it did not 




HE M4PPA eg , LTD 



N. commenced to attack the Prus- 
sian positions about half-past two in 
the afternoon, deciding* upom this 
course on hearing the sound of can- 
non from the direction of Quatre 
Bras'. He had but 71,000 men to 
Bluoher's 83,000, and this included 
the troops under Lobau, who only 
effected a junction with him' towards 
the end of the fight. Girard and 
Vandamme were launched against 
the village of St. Amand and Gerard 
was 'thrown against Ligny itself. The 
duty of Grouchy, on the right, was 
to keep Thielemann busily employed, 
whilst the guard and Milhaud were 



appear at Ligny at the correct place 
or time. What N. really lintended 
that Ney should do was to retain a 
force capable of holding Wellington 
at Quatre Bras and dispatch every 
available man to the Emperor's 
assistance at Ligny. The fight for 
the villages was fierce and incessant, 
and the bitterness of race hatred 
was added to the desire for military 
prestige. The hamlets around which 
the combat surged were taken and re- 
taken, but the French had the better 
of the fighting, as Bliicher was com- 
pelled to send forward constant drafts 
from his reserves to the hard-pressed 



450 



WATERLOO 

men in the front line. Neither could 
the Prussians escape, nor break 
througfh the French cordon. The 
battle later in the day can only be 
described as murderous. So fierce 
was the incessiant fire and the hand- 
to-hand fighting* that the troops en- 
gaged melted away rank by rank. At 
last the French themselves had to 
call upon their reserves. Vandamme 
reported that an enemy column over 
30,000 strong was threatening his left. 
This was d'Erlon's corps, but so ex- 
hausted and excited were Vandamime's 
troops at the sight of what they be- 
lieved to be a new enemy that they 
broke and fled and were only restrained 
from pell-mell panic by the menace of 
their companions of the artillery, who 
threatened to moiw themi doiwn if they 
did not call a halt. Even N. did not 
believe the new column to be d'Erlon's, 
as its arrival did not coincide with the 
time at which he expected it. More- 
over, it was marching in a different 
direction fromi that which it had been 
ordered to take. The Prussians, 
heartened by the temporary break- 
away of Vandamme 's troops, had 
rallied furiously, but they were met 
by the Young Guard, who succeeded 
in keeping them in check. The Em- 
peror did not learn 'that the new factor 
in the situation^ was commanded by 
d'Erlon until half-past six, and imme- 
diately after this he was informed that 
it had moved off in a westerly direc- 
tion. Again and again orders were 
sent to the commander of the division 
left by d'Erlon in the neighbourhood 
of Ligny to engage his men decisively, 
but for one reason or another he failed 
to comply. At this juncture Bliicher 
launched a grand attack against Van- 
damme, lead'ing the advance in person, 
but not an inch of ground past the 
village of St. Amand could he make. 
The Prussians by thi3 time were 
thoroiughly exhausted, and when the 
cavalry of the Guard were let loose 
upon them' they retired in consider- 
able disorder. The Emperor then saw 
that if he could not entirely demolish 
and destroy the Prussian forces he 
could so damage them^ that they would 
be unfit for any further serious opera- 
tion. Lobau now came in, and an 
artillery "preparation" was directed 



WATERLOO 

against Bliicher's centre. Sixty guns 
blazed forth upon it, and G6rard and 
the Guard, with Milhaud on the right, 
charged down. The impact of these 
veteran troops proved too much for 
the Prussians ; their centre was 
broken, and had it not been that 
Bliicher had kept a few fresh cavalry 
squadrons in hand a sauve qui peut 
would have resulted. Whilst leading 
his cavalry, Bliicher had had a horse 
shot under him, and he was carried 
from the field badly stunned. By nine 
o'clock p'.mi. the battle had been lost 
and won, and N. was master of 
Bliicher's position. The Prussians 
were streaming away to the north of 
the Namur-Nivelles road, but darkness 
was falling, and ignorance of what had 
occurred at Quatrei Bras retarded the 
Emperor from ordering a pursuit. 
The Prussians, though severely 
handled, had not been so) badly hit 
as N. intended they should be. 
Gneisenau, discarding his rdle of 
military pedant, ordered a retreat on 
Tilly and Wavre, but he failed to 
report this movement to Wellington, 
whose near flank was thus left quite 
exposed. Whatever the unwisdom^ of 
such a course, the Prussians were too 
badly shaken to reason on any other 
lines than those of self-preservation. 
The casualties at Ligny had been 
heavy, for the French had lost 8,500 
men and the Prussians 12,000 with 
many guns. 20,000 men had been 
killed or disabled within two square 
miles. 

Wellington's army, as has been 
said, was in a most precarious posi- 
tion, for the Napoleonic plan of cam- 
paign, if it had not realized all ex- 
pectations, had so far succeeded. Ney, 
reinforced by d'Erlon, occupied 
Wellington's front, and was eastily 
capable of holding him long enough to 
permit of N. striking a fatal blow on 
his left flank. Wellington was to be 
dealt with first ere the badly shaken 
Prussians could rally to his assistance. 
He was hazy as regards what had 
happened at Ligny ; indeed, he had 
received no message from Bliicher 
regarding his retreat, as the single 
officer entrusted with the dispatch had 
been shot en route. During the night 
Wellington had been reinforced, but 



451 



WATERLOO 

his position was manifestly untenable 
at Quatre Bras, and he was really 
ignorant of Bliicher's whereabouts. It 
was 9 a.m. on the morningf of 17 June 
ere he received any message from the 
Prussian commander. He told the 
officer who' brought the dispatch, that 
he intended to fall back on Mont St. 
Jean, where he would awalit the French 
onset to the south: of the forest of 
Soignes, if he could count on support 
fromi Bliioher. His main object, in- 
deed, was so to dispose his forces as 
to keep in touch with the Prussians. 
On the morning of the same day the 
Prussians commenced their northward 
retreat. The French were aware of 
this movement, but did not exactly 
know in which direction they had with- 
drawn. Ney was ordered to take up 
a position at Quatre Bras and occupy 
it if possible, or at least hold Welling- 
ton's army in check, when the Em- 
peror would come up wtith the reserve 
and crush Mm;; but Ney remained in- 
active in the face of Wellington's with- 
drawal from Quatre Bras, which, com- 
menced about 10 o'clock. This was 
undoubtedly one of- the gravest 
strategical errors committed in a cam- 
paign where errors were) not few. At 
the same hour as Wellington effected 
his withdrawal in face of Ney's divi- 
sions, N. was cantering over the 
battlefield of Ligny, thinking out his 
future course of action. After an 
hour's consideration he decided to 
follow up the Prussians, earmarking 
for this purpose the corps of Van- 
damme and Gerard, withi Teste's divi- 
sion of the VI. corps and the cavalry 
corps of Pajol and Excelmans. This 
force, numbering 33,000 men with 
110 guns, was! to keep at the heels of 
the Prussians and try to find out if it 
was their intention tO' join with 
Wellington before Brussels. The force 
wasi placed under the command of 
Marshal Grouchy, and his cavalry out- 
posts had already located the III. 
Prussian corps at Gembloux. The 
Emperor directed Grouchy to proceed 
to that place : the order was obe5'ed 
in a literal sense. Grouchy marched 
to Gembloux, where he halted for the 
night. He made no serious effort to 
keep in contact with the Prussians, 
which he could easily have done had 



WATERLOO 

he tried, and it does not seem as if 
he comprehended the serious nature 
of the situation with which he had to 
deal. Had he cared he could have 
frustrated any attempt on the part of 
the Prussians! to effect a junction with 
Wellington, but as the Prussians had 
got clear away without any hindrance 
from him, they managed to re-form and 
achiieve cohesion in a manner that N. 
had not thought possible after the bad 
shaking they had received at Ligny. 

Ney remained almost entirely in- 
active, although troops had been 
placed at Marbais to assist his attack 
on Quatre Bras, but Wellington's re- 
treat had been so skilful and rapid that 
when N. arrived at the position he had 
occupied he found only a handful of 
cavalry and horse artillery which 
Wellington had left to cover his re- 
treat. In an outburst of passion he 
exclaimed that Ney had ruined 
France. Dissembling his mortification 
as best he could, he pushed forward 
in a hope to entangle Wellington's 
rear-guard to such an extent that the 
Prussian main body would perforce 
have to return to its assistance, but 
all to no purpose. Only at the hour 
of sunset did the Emperor reach the 
heights! of Rossomme opposite to 
Wellington's position. By a recon- 
naissance in force he managed to dis- 
cover the exact nature of the army 
with which he had to deal. Rain was 
falling heavily as the French troops 
bivouacked at Rossomme and 
Genappe, and all arms of both armies 
spent a dismal night in the rain-soaked 
fields. But Wellington's position had 
decidedly improved, and he had further 
received new,s to the effect that Bliicher 
would bring at least two corps toi his 
assistance on the morrow. N. still 
thought of driving a wedge between 
the Allies and defeating them in detail, 
so that it was on his left flank that 
Wellington had to fear attack. But 
this he did not seem tO' realize, posi- 
tively assuring himself that N. would 
attempt to turn his right, and with this 
object in view he stationed 17,000 men 
eight miles from his right to repel such 
a movement. He had now close on 
68,000 men in hand, and took up bis 
position across the Nivelles-Brussels 
and Charleroi-Brussels roads at their 



452 



WATERLOO 

juncture at Mont St. Jean. His main 
position was screened by a low ridg^e of 
foothills, undoubtedly a strongs situa- 
tiom. He had barely 30,000 British 
troops to depend upon, the rest of his 
army being composed of the Kingf's 
German Leg^ion, Brunswickers, Han- 
overians, Dutch and Belgians — a com- 
poisite force on which, truthi toi tell, 
he grounded no great faith. He occu- 
pied Hougfoumont in strengtb, g-arrison- 
ing' it with the g'uards, and he placed 
a strong force of the King'9 German 
Leg^ion in the farm of La Haye Sainte, 
the key of his whole position. It would 



WATERLOO 

unable to resist the Prussian counter- 
stroke. But Bliicher, althoug-h he 
quite realized Welling-ton's plan, did 
not send his corps to the British 
support until the morning of the 
i8th had dawned, and then many 
difficulties appeared to retard its 
progress. 

The Emperor had determined to 
attack at six a.m., but the wet state 
of the g-round would not have per- 
mitted the cavalry to manoeuvre, so 
the attempt was abandoned until nine 
a.m. Even then the fields were in 
such a state that N. saw it would be 




Allies lM 1*3 

French ^ (43 



probably have been more tO' his advan- 
tagfe had he massed his men around 
the latter farm than at Houg'oumont, 
but his nervousness regarding- his rig'ht 
undoubtedly dictated thiis course. The 
troops were so disposed that those 
better disciplined were enabled to 
stiffen and strengthen the rawer 
material. The Allied plan of campaign 
was based on Wellingtoin's receiving 
the French attack, while the Prussians 
were to close round the exposed 
French rig-ht and support the British 
left, thus acting' as a general reserve. 
Wellington's duty was thus to bear the 
brunt of the Emperor's attack, and so 
handle the enemy that he would be 



hopeless to attack : he therefore once 
more postponed the assault until 
11.30. He had heard from Grouchy 
to the effect that the Prussians were 
retiring towards Wavre and Perwez 
in two columns, and he stated that if 
he discovered that the larger body was 
moving on Wavre he would keep them 
from effecting a junction with Welling- 
ton. Grouchy had taken up a position 
outside the Prussian left flank, and, 
of course, was much more likely to 
drive them towards Wellington than 
prevent them- fromi joining with him^. 
N. replied to this report at ten o'clock 
in the morning, requesting Grouchy to 
march for Wavre, where he would be 



453 



WATERLOO 

within the dircle of the French opera- 
tions and therefore available. In short, 
Grouchy 's duty was so to dispose his 
force that it should be placed on the 
inner Prussian flank, thus holding 
Bliicher back from the position at 
Waterloo. N.'s dispatch does not 
state this in set terms, but understand- 
ing" the manoeuvre perfectly himself, 
like many men of great ability and 
swift comprehension, he evidently con- 
sidered that everyone else should 
have understood it also. The whole 
Sdea of the operations, of course, 
hinged upon the practice of manoeuvr- 
ing in two wings and a reserve, and 
the Emperor was surely justified in 
concluding, whether hastily or other- 
wise, that a field-marshal was capable 
of understanding his allusion and the 
drift of his message. But Grouchy 
failed to construe it in its true sense, 
whether from want of care in reading 
it or mere stupidity it is bootless toi 
question. Only three-quarters of a mile 
now separated the French from 
Wellington's composite army. The 
late hour at which N. had decided to 
attack made his chances of beating the 
British commander before the arrival 
of Bliicher rather slender, but he drew 
up his army in three lines, presenting 
a bold front as if he had not the 
slightest doubt of the event. D'Erlon 
and Reille formed the first line, on 
which was to fall most of the initial 
fighting; the second was composed of 
Lobau's corps, Kellermann's cuiras- 
siers, Milhaud's cuirassiers, and the 
squadrons of Subervie and Domon ; 
the guard made up the third line. The 
French Army was chiefly compoised of 
seasoned veterans whoi had followed 
the Emperor through many campaigns. 
The British Army, which formed the 
nucleus of the Duke's forces, was filled 
out with a good many militia batta- 
lions. N, never for a moment be- 
lieved that it would last out his "pre- 
paration." The hypothesiis may smack 
of levity, but it is our considered 
opinion that what enabled the British 
force to withstand the brilliant and 
repeated attacks of the French was the 
spirit of pugilism' then rife in England. 
The "noble art" was then at its 
apogee : every man was a pugilist in 
spirit, if not in reality ; and he who 



WATERLOO 

showed the white feather became the 
butt of his fellows' contempt. 

Five different phases mark the pro- 
gress of the battle of Waterloo. The 
great combat began at 11.30 by an 
attack on Hougoumont made by one of 
Reille's divisions. The object was to 
keep Wellington employed on his 
right. About twelve o'clock a com- 
bination of eighty guns co-mimenced the 
" preparation " of the British and Allied 
centre for the main attack, but the 
Duke's front was comparatively secure 
fromi the storm of shot proceeding 
from the guns by reason of the ridge 
which lay partially in front of it. N, 
was just about to give orders for Ney 
to lead the main attack when on his 
front and: right he saw Biilow's corps 
marching toi Wellington's aid from the 
woodsi covering the village of Chapelle 
Saint Lambert. He was in process of 
sending a letter toi Grouchy, to which 
he added a postscript that Billow had 
arrived on the field and asking Grouchy 
toi come upi withi hiim and destroy him, 
but by the time Grouchy received^ it 
all was over. To hold Biilow in check 
the Emperor detached Lobau with the 
squadrons of Domon and Subervie. At 
thiis moment it might have occurred tO' 
a general with less faith in himself 
than N. to break off the combat until 
a more favourable opportunity of beat- 
ing the Allies in detail presented itself. 
Ney then received the order for the 
attack with d'Erlon's corps. In those 
daysi the weight of a column told for 
much in such an onset, but the un- 
wieldiness of d'Erlon's companies in- 
terfered with their mobility. As his 
men advanced, however, the Dutch- 
Belgians, who afterwards raised a 
monument to themselves on the field, 
retreated in hasty disorder ! When 
they came into contact with Picton's 
corps, however, they received a shock. 
The brave Picton unfortunately fell at 
the head of his men. The fighting here 
was of a hand to hand description, and 
has been described as "murderous." 
The left division of d'Erlon's corps 
had attempted tO' storm La Haye 
Sainte : he failed to do so. Lord 
Uxbridge charged with two cavalry 
brigades, and the "Union briigade," 
taking the enemy at a disadvantagfe, 
hurled them backwards and drove them 



454 



WATERLOO 

down the hill, capturing- twoi eagles, 
but the British cavalry were in turn 
met by a cloud of cuirassiers, who 
drove them: back with great loss. 
Once more Ney wasi ordered tO' attack 
La Haye Sainte, and once more the 
attack failed. AH this time a fierce 
artillery duel was in prcHgress, in which 
the French, had rather the better of 
the argument; soi heavy was the iron 
hail that the Allied line was forced 
to retreat a little farther behind the 
rid'g-e whichi sheltered it. Ney, taking* 
this partial retirement for a movement 
of panic or retreat, about four o'clock 



WATERLOO 

It is astounding to realize now that the 
French horse were not supported by 
infantry. It is supremely easy to 
criticize, but that such an omission 
should have been made by one of the 
greatest military leaders whoi ever took 
the field is little short of marvellous. 
The aberrations of g^reat genius are 
often as surprisiing- as its successes. 

Lobau had by this time got into 
contact with Biilow, but his forces 
were gradually outnumibered, and 
driven back into the village of Plan- 
ohenois, whichi the Prussians succeeded 
in taking by storm'. This, of course. 




in the afternoon charged with a large 
body of horsemen, but the British 
infantry formed square and succeeded 
in keeping them off, their ultimate 
confusion being finally caused 
by the Allied cavalry. The retreat 
was covered by Kellermann's cuiras- 
siers and the heavy cavalry of the 
gnard. Reinforced by those and now 
numbering- eig-hty squadrons, the 
Frenoh cavalry once more launched 
a furious attack ag'ainst the British 
squares, among whiohi they became 
hopelessly entangled. At last they 
were driven down the face of the 
slope, and the greatest cavalry attack 
of all history was broken and defeated. 



menaced the French rig^ht and rear. 
The Emperor, calling up his reserve, 
dispatched Duhesme with the Young 
Guard to assist Lobau. By their con- 
certed attack Biilow was driven out of 
Planchenois and forced back towards 
the wood of Paris. At this juncture 
the Emperor once more ordered Ney 
to carry La Haye Sainte at any cost. 
Getting tog^ether the remainder of 
d'Erlon's corps about six o'clock in 
the evening, he once more attacked 
with the utmost 6\an and ferocity, and 
succeeded in capturing the place, his 
success being due to the circumstance 
that the King's German Leg^ion, who 
g-arrisoned it, had run out of rifle am- 



455 



WATERLOO 

munition. This meant, of course, that 
the key of Wellingftom's position was 
now in N. 's hands. The Duke's centre 
had received many heavy blows, his 
men were greatly fatigued and his 
reserves few in number. He bad mar- 
tialled his line and received the further 
support of some Prussian corps which 



WATERLOO 

Vandeleure could now be spared to 
reiinforce the centre. This strength- 
ening of the centre, perhaps, contri- 
buted more towards the final success 
than is generally supposed or ad- 
mitted. Wellington now found him- 
self attacked along his whole line; 
nearly the entire Guard was launched 




now began to come up. Piroh I. and 
Zieten came to Billow's support and 
once more retook Planchenois. N. 
sent two battalions of the Old Guard 
against it and they swept the place 
clear with the bayonet, but the Prus- 
sians continued to come up; they 
freed further cavalry on the Duke's 
left and the brigades of Vivian and 



against his centre, but the attack 
was repulsed by Halkett's brigade, a 
Dutch-Belgian division, the guards, 
the 52nd, and the royal artillery. 
Zieten, about eight o'clock, succeeded 
in piercing the French right flank, and 
the line crumpled up. Wellington's 
line then advanced in consonance with 
his famous order, "The whole line will 



456 



WATERLOO 

advance," but three battalions of the 
Guards stood firm. They were, how- 
ever, finally overpowered ; but such 
was not the case with two battalions 
of the ist grenadiers of the Guard, 
who would not be broken. These, 
however, were the exceptions ; the 
remainder of the French Army was 
streaming aiway in a flying rabble. 
Lobau was now finally overpowered, 
but he had succeeded in preventing 
the Prussians from seizing N.'s line 
of retreat too soon. Bliicher and 
Wellington met at a quarter past nine 
in the fading summer night at the farm 
of La Belle Alliance, arranged that the 
exhausted army of Wellington could 
not take up the pursuit and that this 
should be left in the hiands of the 
Prussians. Following the fleeing 
French all night, they pursued them 
with a relentless vigour which de- 
stroyed all hope of their once more 
becoming a composite force. Terrible 
stories are still told of the brutalities 
commlitted by the Prussians en route 
and whilst in pursuit of their foe. 
The French had lost over 40,000 
men, Wellington 15,000 and the 
Prussians 7,000. 

Grouchy, oommianding the right 
wing, had determined on the i8th 
to continue his march toi Wavrei in a 
single column. He further made up 
his miind to move up the right bank 
of the river Dyle. He was at break- 
fast when the reverberation of the 
guns at Waterloo reached his ears. 
Gerard urged him to advance towards 
the sound of the firing, and he was 
backed by others, but Grouchy would 
not listen to themi and marched on tO' 
Wavre, where he encountered Thiele- 
mann's Prussian corps of 16,000 men 
holding thej passages across the Dyle 
about four 0''clock in the afternoon. 
A fierce fight ensued, in which the 
Prussians had at first the advantage. 
Grouchy received the Emperor's dis- 
patchi to the effect that Biilow was 
in sight, but he was then unable to 
move westwards. The action lasted 
till eleven o'clock p.m., and was re- 
newed next moiming after dawn, but 
Thielemann was at length beaten by 
weight of numbers and about eleven 
a.m. was forced to retire, each side 
having lost about 2,400 men. Grouchy 



WAVRE 

was attempting to puzzle out what 
course he should then adopt when he 
received news of the disaster at Water- 
loo. He at once made arrangements to 
retreat to France via Namur, and this 
retreat he carried out with considerable 
skill and rapidity, contriving to avoid 
Blucher and bring Ms force to Paris. 
But all was lost; the Allies advanced, 
France was conquered, and the Em- 
peror once more forced to abdicate. 
His army had been much too weak for 
the great task it had undertaken. Had 
Ney contrived to hold Wellington on 
the 17th, and had Grouchy on that and 
on the following day acted with greater 
circumspection and address, the event 
might have been different. The spirit of 
co-operation between Wellington and 
Blucher, too, was of the miost loyal de- 
scription, and undoubtedly must count 
in any estimate of the forces which 
went toi the gaining of one of the 
greatest victories in the history of the 
world. 

Wavre, Battle of (Waterloo Cam- 
paign). — This action was fought on 
18 June 1815. Grouchy, with the 
right wing of the French Army, de- 
termined tO' pursue the Prussians who 
were retiring on Wavre and prevent 
themi from joining their Allies. This 
plan be did not carry out with suffi- 
cient rapidity, and on coming up 
with the enemy Grouchy found only 
one Prussian corps under Thielemann 
(16,000 men), which was holding the 
passages of the Dyle river. This he 
engaged, and heavy fighting com- 
menced about! 4 P.M., continuing until 
about II, only to be resumed the 
foillowing morning. The Prussians, 
being greatly outnumbered, were 
forced toi retire towards Ix)uvain, 
and both sides had lost about 2,400 
men. This victory, however, was not 
only a waste of time, but proved to 
be barren owing to N.'s utter de- 
feat at Waterloo. By some critics 
Grouchy !is severely censured, and, 
indeed, blamed for his Emperor's 
disaster, for by his feeble manoeuvring 
and false strategy he failed to prevent 
the junction of Blucher and Welling- 
ton which led to the final rout from 
the field of Waterloo, and also de- 
prived N. of the support of the entire 
right wing of the French Army. 



457 



WELLESLEY 

Wellesley, Sir Arthur.— See Wel- 
lington, Duke of. 
Wellineton, Arthur Wellesley, 

tst Duke of (1769-1852).— Fourth son 

of Garrett Wellesley, or Wesley, 
second Baron and first Earl of Morn- 
ingtotn, a peer well known because of 
his musical tastes. His grandfather, 
Richard Colley, the first Baron Morn- 
ing-ton, had taken the name of Wesley 
on succeeding- to the estates of Garrett 
Wesley, who was related to the famous 
Methodist preacher. It was not until 
about 1790 that the name was changed 
to Wellesley. The Iro^n Duke was 
born in Ireland, educated at Eton, 
and afterwards took a military course 
at the colleg-e at Angers. It is strange 
to think that he was first attached as 
ensign to the 73rd Highlanders in 
1787, passed through no less than five 
different regiments before he became 
major of the 33rd, the lieutenant- 
colonelcy of which he purchased in 
1793, assisted in doing so by his 
eldest brother. All this time he was 
aide-de-camp tO' the lord-lieutenant of 
Ireland, so gained little experience of 
regimental work. He entered the 
Irish parliament before his majority 
as member for the borough of Trim, 
and in these days might be regarded 
in^ every respect as the young Anglo- 
Irish aristocrat of his time. His first 
taste of campaigning was gained with 
the British force under the Duke of 
York in 1794-5, when that commander 
was driven out of Holland by Piche- 
gru. The following year he accom- 
panied his regiment to India with the 
rank of brevet-colonel. He began to 
pay great attention to the detaJils of 
rnilitary life. No fact was too in- 
significant for him to master; the 
weight that each individual soldier 
was capable of carrying, the amount 
of food which he required, the dis- 
tance that he could traverse on the 
marchi, were all carefully tested and 
experimented upon. He also pene- 
trated deeply into the history of war- 
fare and the science of strategy, giving 
up all amusements and devoting him- 
self to study during certain fixed hours. 
The Indian exploits of Wellington 
have been dealt with too frequently 
to necessitate their inclusion in such 
a work as this, when the essential is 



WELLINGTON 

to touch upon the course of those 
European campaigns in which he 
shattered the power of bis great 
adversary. 

Returning from India in 1805, 
Wellesley was immediately sent on 
an expedition to Hanover, from whiicb 
nothing resulted. In the following 
year he entered the House of Com- 
mons as member for Rye, his object 
being to defend his brother, the 
governor-general of Indiia. In 1807 
he was created Irish secretary. He 
was then dispatched to Denmark in 
the expedition against Copenhagen, 
and defeated the enemy in the battle 
of Kjoge on 29 Oct. In 1808 the 
Peninsular War, which was to add 
such lustre to his name, commenced, 
and in April of that year he was placed 
in command of a division of the troops 
which were to operate against the 
French in Spain or Portugal with the 
rank of lieutenant-general. It is un- 
necessary here tq follow him through 
the deviousi paths of these campaigns, 
as that has already been done in the 
artiolei on the Peninsular War (q.v.). 
It need only be said that once N. had 
withdrawn from Spain, his lieutenants 
in that country found themselves un- 
equal to coping with the shrewd and 
experienced Englishman. A good deal 
of discontent was, of course, shown 
in England withi some of Wellesley 's 
actions in the Peninsula, but later, 
when it was observed that these were 
necessary to his grand plan of cam- 
paign, public opinion was fully won 
over to his side and he was regarded 
in the light of a national hero. A 
peerage with the title of Viscount 
Wellington and Baron Douro was 
conferred upon him after the battle 
of Talavera, and he was made a 
Spanish captain-general, as well as 
marshal-general of the Portuguese 
forces. But there were still critics 
who pointed out that the battle of 
Talavera had been without definite 
results. ^ The difficulty of his task in 
the Peninsula can scarcely be mag- 
nified ; with vastly inferior forces, 
assisted by untrained and often in- 
subordinate Allies, whose leaders 
frequently insisted upon carrying out 
movements of which, he disapproved, 
his achievements in Spain and Por- 



458 



WELLINGTON 

tugfal are undoubtedly to be reckoned 
amongst the most brilliant feats of 
Briitish arms. He did not make many 
friends among-st his subordinates, his 
criticismis of Avhomi were trenchant in 
the extreme. Neither had he much 
good to say about the British troops 
under bis command ; their insubordina- 
tion and misoomduot, he said, were 
such as he had never witnessed else- 
where. By such strictures he alienated 
from himself the affections of his 
officers and| men, who, although they 
regarded him as a trustworthy and 
brilliant leader, resented what they 
considered his injustice. Cold and 
unsympathetic, he had no friends, 
and did not seem^ to desire the in- 
timacy of anyone. It is difficult to 
say whether this attitude sprang 
fromi aristocratic hauteur or personal 
pride, or was merely the result of 
pose, and it is probable that all three 
elements entered into it. After the 
fail of Ciudad Rodrigo Wellington 
was created an earl, and the Spanish 
Government raised hlim to the duke- 
dom, of Ciudad Rodrigo. After Sala- 
manca, he received a marquisate and 
a grant of ;^ioo,ooo for the purchase 
of an estate. The Portuguese Grovern- 
ment alsoi made him Duque da Vic- 
toria, or Duke of Victory — not, as 
has often been thought, of "Vit- 
toria" — and before 1813 he had been 
decorated with the Garter and the 
Golden Fleece. 

After the Treaty of Paris he was 
appointed British amjbassador at the 
French capital, reporting to his 
government on the lack of Bourbon 
solidarity and the growing danger from 
the French Army. He did not, how- 
ever, realize that the nation, like the 
army, were desirous of N.'s reinstate- 
ment. He sat at the Congress of 
Vienna in lieu of Lord Castlereagh, 
but by that time the great questions 
which had been before the congress 
had been dealt with. On N.'s escape 
from Elba he did not seem to realize 
the gravity of the situation, writing 
to England that N. would be destroyed 
"without difficulty and in a short 
time." Wellington's presence at 
Vienna enabled the Allies to decide 
at once upon their plans of cam- 
paign, and it was arranged that 



WELLINGTON 

Wellington and Bliicher should in- 
vade France from the north, while 
the Russians and the Austrians en- 
tered from the east. His part in the 
campaign which followed is described 
in the article Waterloo Campaign 
(q.v.). He received a grant of 
;^20o,ooo from parliament, the title 
of Prince of Waterloo, and extensive 
estates from the King of Holland, and 
the order of St. Esprit from Louis 

xvin. 

His personal power at this period 
it would be difficult to overestimate. 
He negotiated with the commissioners 
of the provisional government, know- 
ing well that if he delayed any de- 
cision regarding the circumstances of 
that government great danger might 
ensue, as neither the Emperor of 
Russia or Austria was by any 
means well disposed to the Bourbons. 
He told the commissioners in no un- 
certain manner that they must take 
back Louis, was shrewd enough to 
have Fouche appointed minister of 
police, and so disposed affairs that 
when the Emperor Alexander arrived 
in Paris there was no more to be said. 
France had reason to be grateful, for 
through his offices she escaped dis- 
memberment, but it may be that he 
strove more for the restoration of the 
Bourbon line than for the g'ood of 
France. His attitude towards Mar- 
shal Ney at this time has been abund- 
antly critidized, and it is likely that 
he considered that one who had 
broken his loyalty to his adopted 
monarch might repeat the offence. He 
was placed in ooimmand of the inter- 
national army by which France was 
to be occupied for five years, having 
full powers to act in case of emerg- 
ency. It was the duty of the French 
Government to report the course of 
affairs to him ; in short, it may be 
said that at this period he was 
practically dictator of France. His 
administrative duties in connexion 
with the army he commanded were 
most onerous. He reconstructed the 
military frontier of the Netherlands, 
conducted the financial negotiations 
by which the French Government was 
able to pay off its indemnities, and 
interested himself in numerous inter- 
national affairs. When Russia was 



459 



WELLINGTON 

desirous of lessening- her forces in 
French territory Wellington set the 
proposal aside, preferring- to wait 
till the army had shown by its acts 
how it would conduct itself. But 
the new Chambers proved their trust- 
worthy quality, and the army of occu- 
pation was reduced by 30,000 men. 
Wellington now saw 'that the total 
evacuation of France had become 
essential to the maintenance of in- 
ternational peace, as the popular 
irritation had grown to such a 
heig^ht that if France were not 
evacuated he would have to con- 
centrate hiis forces. At the Congress 
of Aix-la-Chapelle in the autumn of 
18 1 8 he supported a proposal for the 
immediate evacuation of France, and 
a last financial settlement between 
France and the Allies was made under 
his direction. 

Althoug-hi Wellington had been re- 
ceived with g-reat enthusiasm when 
he entered Paris, he was not long- 
in renderiing- himself thoroug-hly un- 
popular. Whether justly or unjustly, 
everytJiing- which tended towards the 
irritation of the populace was attri- 
buted to him. His coldness and con- 
temptuous bearing- intensely irritated 
those French officials with w'hom he 
had to labour. More than one attempt 
was made to assassinate him, and the 
Priince Regent commanded him to leave 
Paris and take up his headquarters 
at Cambrai, as he feared for his life, 
but the Duke insisted upon remaining- 
at the capital. On 30 Oct. 181 8 he 
took leave of the troops under his 
command, having- accepted from Lord 
Liverpool the office of master-general 
of the ordnance, \\^ith a seat in the 
cabinet. 

This is not the place in which to 
g-ive an extended account of the life 
of the Duke, who is noticed here in 
virtue of his connexion with the 
downfall of N. It but remains to 
summarize his personal character- 
istics and to attempt an estimate of 
his qualities, gfreat and otherwise. 

At first sight the character of 
Wellington seems one of no great 
complexity, but if that original esti- 
mate be correct it cannot be allowed 
that the elements which went towards 
its making were few or of small dis- 



WELLINGTON 

tinction. He was essentially the aris- 
tocrat as the man of action. In order 
to read his life aright we must bear 
in mind that the English aristocrat of 
his time added to intense national and 
family pride a contemptuous attitude 
towards the peoples and rulers of other 
countries. Added to this national and 
inherited contemptuousness, Welling- 
ton possessed an almost unfathomable 
personal hauteur. The intense reserve 
with which he surrounded himself at 
almost all periods of his life makes 
it difficult for us to gauge the true 
terms of his individuality. It is diffi- 
cult also to say whether this individual 
haughtiness was of assistance to him 
or otherwise during his career. In 
India it undoubtedly helped himi in his 
relations with the Mahratta chiefs, 
who were probably greatly impressed 
by his personal dignity ; but it irritated 
the French and to some extent the 
Spaniards with whom he came in 
contact, and rendered him much dis- 
liked by both the officers and men of 
his various commands. As a military 
leader his victories were chiiefly due 
to the admirable thoroughness with 
which he carried out everything he 
undertook. Not that he made any 
great attempts to organize his forces 
prior to a campaign, but once that 
campaign had begun he threw into 
its conduct all the activity and force 
of which he was capable. No detail 
was too' petty for his personal inspec- 
tion, and he took care that even the 
smallest order he issued should be 
promptly and carefully carried out. 
He had also marvellous knowledge of 
the strategical value of ground, seem- 
ing to know intuitively what was " over 
the next hill. " The dispositions of his 
men, too', were nearly always skilfully 
and well considered. As Tennyson 
said, he was, indeed, "rich in saving 
common sense," which was one of the 
keynotes of his character. It cannot 
be said that he was by any means 
generous to his enemies, especially to 
that greatest of them, whom by a com- 
bination of circumstances he succeeded 
in finally defeating. It has been laid 
to his charge that the ignoble treat- 
ment of N. by the British Government 
was in part due to the victor of Water- 
loo, and, when all is said, this seems 



460 



WERTINGEN 

extremely probable in view of the 
Duke's action in simiilar cases. He 
could not tolerate that anyone should 
receive a meed of praise in connexion 
with any of his campaigns, excepting- 
himself. Persomally he was courage- 
ous in the extreme and in innumerable 
instances risked his life like any com- 
mon soldier. He will always stand out 
in history, however, as a man divorced 
from the softer and better influences 
of humanity — a, oold and calculating 
commander amd a statesman who had 
in him' the makings of a despot, for 
it was merely the determined attitude 
of the British people towards his 
measures of repressiom which saved 
him from being that. It would be 
unjust, as well as ungenerous, to deny 
that he saved Britain and Europe from 
what might have been a dangerous 
supremacy, and if he was not destined 
to be equally fortunate in peace as in 
war he was indeed a great general, a 
great aristocrat and a great man. 

Werting^en, Battle of (Austerlitz 
Campaign). — On 8 Oct. 1805 a divi- 
sion of Austrians numbering 8,000 
men, under General Auffenberg, who 
were marching to join Mack with the 
main army, suddenly found themselves 
surrounded at Wertingen by an im- 
mense body of French cavalry under 
Murat. The Austrians formed square 
and heroically defended themselves, 
but the arrival on the scene of Oudi- 
not's grenadiers made further resist- 
ance useless, and Auffenberg effected 
a retreat with the remnant of his 
forces, leaving 3,000 prisoners and all 
his artillery in tiie hands of the French. 

Westphalia.— The most important 
of the states held by France in Ger- 
many during the Napoleo'nic period. 
At the Imperial Reoessi of 1803 it 
had been given to Prussia, but N., 
judging it wise to dominate that 
country — ^which was not included in 
the Rhenish Confederation — by terri- 
tory subject to France, coveted the 
small state for strategical purposes. 
In 1806, during tha war with Prussia, 
he took possession of Brunswick, 
Hesse, and all Prussian territory be- 
tween the Rhine and the Elbe with 
a view to the formation of a kimgdom 
of Westphalia, and this was actually 
accomplished in the following year, 



WESTPHALIA 

after the conclusion of the peace of 
Tilsit. The new kingdom comprised 
the electorates of Hesse-Cassel, the 
Westphalian provinces of Prussia, the 
duchy of Brunswick and the southern 
part of Hanover, and its population 
numbered about 2,000,000, N. gave 
the throne to his youngest brother, 
Jerome Bonaparte, a youth in no 
wise qualified to rule a kingdom so 
recently formed and compO'Sed of 
such diverse elements. He was, in- 
deed, a luxurious and pleasure-loving 
monarch, utterly devoid of ambition 
for himself or his people, and the 
French Emperor was sadly dis- 
appointed in him. 

The constitution laid down certain 
fundamental principles of government, 
and the crown was held by Jerome 
only on condition of his observing 
these. As a member of the Con- 
federation of the Rhine Westphalia 
was required tO' maintain 25,000 men 
for French service. Conscription was 
enforced, and with ever-increasing 
severity. The king was to remain a 
French prince, and on the expiry of 
his lawful line the kingdom was to 
revert to the French Emperor. The 
civil list was fixed at 5,000,000 francs, 
while the Code NapoUon was to be 
the civil law of the country. Public 
procedure and trial by jury were in- 
stituted. French coinage, weights 
and measures were adopted. The 
Estates of the Realm comprised a 
hundred members nominated by the 
electoral colleges, but their powers 
were somewhat restricted. The 
country was subdivided into depart- 
ments governed by prefects, districts 
at the head of which were sub- 
prefects, cantons with justices of the 
peace, and municipalities with their 
mayors. The German language was 
never proscribed, but was used in the 
codes and law courts, and taught, 
with French, in the schools. Germans 
were also permitted to hold high offices 
of state. The old feudal system was 
abolished, but those of the nobility 
whoi were thus deprived of ancient 
privileges were compensated by re- 
ceiving po'sitioins at the court. 

On the whole the condition of the 
country at the beginning of Jerome's 
reign was not unpromising, yet there 



461 



WESTPHALIA 

were many unsound elements in the 
state, and this was particularly the 
case with itsi financial condition. The 
first year saw a deficit of 40,000,000 
francs, which steadily increased till in 
1 81 2 the g-overnment was forced to 
repudiate the gfreater part of its debt, 
to exact a forced loan of 5,000,000 
francs, and to fix the land tax at 25 
per cent, of the revenue. There is no 
doubt that the disastrous fate which 
overtook the country was due as much 
to N.'s financial policy as to Jerome's 
inefficiency and selfish indulg-ence. It 
is true that Jerome showed himself 
from the first quite unfitted for his 
position. What little revenue there 
was left when the rapadioius Freoch 
treasury was satisfied he spent on the 
upkeep of a profligfate court. The pay 
of the soldiers was deferred and the 
army gfenerally treated badly, a policy 
wihich resulted in 1809 in a serious; 
mutiny. In military as well as in 
financial matters the king- proved 
feeble and ineffectual, as appears 
from hiis inability to quell the insur- 
rection of Frederick von Sohill in 
1809 and later that of the Duke of 
Brunswick-Oels. Yet he was not 
without good men in his ministry ; 
the constitution itself was in many 
ways suited to the people and was 
a vast improvement on the modes of 
gxwernment they had hitherto ex- 
perienced. Moreover, Prussians and 
Hanoverians, stern military Hessians 
and more cultured Brunswickers were 
all ready to work tog-ether for the 
common good. On the other hand, 
the iron heel of the Empire pressed 
heavily on Westphalia. The constant 
drain imposed by a strictly enforced 
conscription was more than she could 
bear. In addition to the maintenance 
of an army of 25,000 men N. made 
many demands on the exchequer of 
the little country ; and, moreover, the 
rigours of the Continental System fell 
heavily upon it, impoverlished as it was 
by French requisitions during- 1806-7. 
Thus it will be seen that N. was as 
much to blame as his brother for the 
failure of the latter's rule in West- 
phalia. 

On the fall of N. Westphalia was 
dealt with at the Congress of Vienna 
and assigned by the terms of the Final 



WILL 

Act to Prussia, after it had been re- 
duced to the limits of the former duchy 
of Westphalia, g-iven at Lun^ville to 
the Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. 

Will and Testament o-f Napo- 
leon, The Last. — This document, 
signed on 15 April 1821 at Long-- 
wood, St. Helena, has the following 
as its principal provisions : 

I 

"i. I die in the Apostolical Roman 
religion, in the bosom of which I was 
born more than fifty years since. 

"2. It is my wish that my ashes 
may repose on the banks of the Seine, 
in the midst of the French people, 
whom I have loved so well. 

"3. I have always had reason to be 
pleased with my dearest wife, Marie 
Louise. I retain for her, to my last 
moment, the most tender sentiments. 
I beseech her to watch, in order to 
preserve my son fromi the snares which 
yet environ his infancy. 

"4. I recommend to my son never 
to forget that he was born a French 
prince, and never to allow himself to 
become an instrument in the hands of 
the triumvirs who oppress the nations 
of Europe; he oug'ht never to figiht 
against France, or to injure her in 
any manner; he oug-ht to adopt my 
motto : ' Every thing for the French 
people.^ 

"5. I die prematurely, assassinated 
by the Englishi olig-archy and its. . . . 
The Eng-lish nation will not be slow in 
avenging- me. 

"6. The two unfortunate results of 
the invasions of France, when she 
had still so miany resources, are to 
be attributed to the treason of Mar- 
mont, Augereau, Talleyrand and La 
Fayette. I forgive them — may the 
posterity of France forgive them like 
me ! 

"7. I thank my good and most 
excellent mother, the Cardinal, my 
brothers Joseph, Lucien, Jerome, 
Pauline, Caroline, Julie, Hortense, 
Catarine, Eugene, for the interest 
which they have continued to feel 
for me. I pardon Louis) for the libel 
which he published in 1820; it is 
replete with false assertions and 
falsified documents. 



462 



WILL 

"8. I disavow the Manuscript of St. 
Helena, and other works, under the 
title of Maxims, Sayings, etc., which 
persons have been pleased to publish 
for the last six years. These are not 
the rules which have gfuided my life. 
I caused the Due d'Enghien to be 
arrested and tried because that step 
was essential to the safety, interest 
and honour of the French people, 
when the Count d'Artois was main- 
taining", by his confession, sixty 
assassins at Paris. Under similar 
circumstances I would act in the 
same way. 



II. 

" I. I bequeath to my son the boxes, 
orders and other articles, such as my 
plate, field-bed, saddles, spurs, chapel- 
plate, books, linen, which I have been 
accustomed to wear and use, accord- 
ing to the list annexed (A). It is my 
wish that this slight bequest may be 
dear to him, as recalling the memory 
of a father of whom the universe will 
discourse to him. 

"2. I bequeath to Lady Holland the 
antique cameo which Pope Pius VI. 
gave me at Tolentino. 

" 3. I bequeath) to Count Montholon 
two million of francs, as a proof of 
my satisfaction with the filial atten- 
tions which he has paid to me during 
six years, and as an indemnity foT 
the losses which his residence at St. 
Helena has occasioned. 

"4. I bequeath to Count Bertrand 
five hundred thousand francs. 

"5. I bequeath to Marchand, my 
first valet de chamhre, four hundred 
thousand francs. The services which 
he has rendered to me are those of a 
friend ; it is my wish that he should 
marry thie widow, sister or daughter 
of an officer of my old guard. 

"6. Item, to St. Denis, one hundred 
thousand francs. 

"7. Item, to Novarraz, one hundred 
thousand francs. 

"8. Item, toi Pi^ron, one hundred 
thousand francs. 

"9. Item, to Archamhaud, fifty 
thousand francs. 

" 10. Item, to Cursot, twenty-five 
thousand francs. 



WILL 

"11. Item, to Chandellier, twenty- 
five thousand francs. 

"12. Item, to the Abbe Vignali, one 
hundred thousand francs. It is my 
wish that he should build his house 
near the Ponte Nuovo di Rostino. 

" 13. Item, to Count Las Cases, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"14. Item, toi Count Lavalette, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"15. Item, to Larrey, surgeoin-in- 
chief, one hundred thousand francs. 
He is the most virtuous man I have 
known. 

" 16. Item, to General Brayer, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

".17. Itemi, to General Le Fevre 
Desnouettes, one hundred thousand 
francs. 

" 18. Item, to General Drouot, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

" 19. Item, to General Cambronne, 
one hundred thousand francs. 

"20. Item, to the children of 
General Mouton Duvernet, one hun- 
dred thousand francs. 

"21. Item, to the children of the 
brave Labedoy^re, one hundred thou- 
sand francs. 

"22. Item, to the children of 
General Girard, killed at Ligny, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"23. Itemi, to the children of 
General Mardhand, one hundred thou- 
sand francs. 

"24. Itemi, to the children of the 
virtuous General Travot, one hundred 
thousand francs. 

"25. Item, to General Lallemand 
the elder, one hundred thousand 
francs. 

"26. Item, to Count Real, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"2'j. Item, to Costa de Bastetica, in 
Corsica, one hundred thousand francs. 

" 28. Item, toi General Clausel, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"29. Item, to Baron de Meneval, 
one hundred thousand francs. 

"30. Item, to Arnault, the author 
of MaHus, one hundred thousand 
francs. 

"31. Itemi, to Colonel Marbot, one 
hundred thousand francs. I engage 
him' to continue to write in defence 
of the glory of the French armies and 
to confound their calumniators and 
apostates. 



463 



WILL 

"32. Item., to Baron Bignon, one 
hundred thousand francs. I engfage 
him to write the history of French 
diplomacy from 1792 to 181 5. 

"33. Itemi, to Poggi di Talavo, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

" 34. Item, to surgeon Emmery, one 
hundred thousand francs. 

"35. These sums will be raised from 
the six millions which I deposited on 
leaving Paris in 181 5, and from the 
interest, at the rate of five per cent., 
since July 181 5. The account will be 
settled with the banker by Counts 
Montholon, Bertrand and Marchand. 

"36. Whatever that deposit may 
produce beyond the sum of five million 
six hundred thousand francs, which 
have been above disposedi of, shall be 
distributed aSi a gratuity amongst the 
wounded at the battle of Waterloo', 
and. amongst the officers and soldiers 
of the battalion of the isle of Elba, 
according" to a scale toi be determined 
upon by Montholon, Bertrand, Brouot, 
Cambronne and the surgeon Larrey. 

"37. These legacies, in case of 
death, shall be paid toi the widows 
and chiildren, and in default of such 
shall revert to the bulk of my property. 

III. 

" I. My private domain being my 
property, of which no French law 
deprives me, that I am. aware of, an 
account of it will be required from 
the Baron de la Bouillerie, the trea- 
surer thereof; it ought to amount to 
more th,an 200,000,000 of francs, 
namely : (i) The portfolio containing" 
the savings which I made during 
fourteen years out of my civil 
list, which amounted toi more than 
12,000,000 per annum, if my memoiry 
be good. (2) The produce of thiis 
portfolio. (3) The furniture of my 
palaces, such as it was in 1814, in- 
cluding the palaces of Rome, Florence 
and Turin. All this furniture was 
purchased with moneys accruing from 
■the civil list. (4) The proceeds of m.y 
houses in the kingdom of Italy, such 
as money, plate, jewels, furniture, 
equipages ; the accounts will be ren- 
dered by Prince Eugene, and the 
steward of the crown, Campagnoni. 
" Napoleon. 



WILLIAMS 

"2. I bequeath my private domain, 
one-half to. the surviving officers and 
soldiers of the French. Army who have 
foug'ht since 1792 to 181 5 for the 
glory and the independence of the 
nation. The distribution shall be made 
in proportion to their appointments 
upon active service. One-half toi the 
towns and districts of Alsace, of 
Lorraine, of Franche Comt^, of Bur- 
gundy, of the isle of France, of Cham- 
pagne Forest, Dauphine, which may 
have suffered by either of the inva- 
sions. There shall be previously de- 
ducted fromi this sum, one million for 
the town of Brienne and one million 
for that of Meri. I appoint Counts 
Montholon, Bertrand and Marchand 
the executors of my will. 

"This present will, wholly written 
withi my own hand, is signed, and 
sealed with my own arms. 

"Napoleon." 

Then follows a list marked "A," 
dated 15 April 1821, which disposes 
of the consecrated vessels in use in 
the chiapel at Lx)ngwood, N.'s armis, 
the sword he wore at Austerlitz, the 
sabre of Sobieski, N.'s dagger, broad 
sword, hanger, two pairs of Versailles 
pistols and his gold travelling-box to 
his son. Numerou.s other small objects 
are also, left to his son. 

There is also, marked "List B," 
an inventory of the effects which 
N. left in possession of the Count 
de Turenne. 

Codicils. — I. and II. By these 
codicils the Emperor bequeathed to 
Bertrand, Montholon and Marchand 
his effects upo'n the island of St. 
Helena, and two million to his 
faithful servants, including many 
generals. 

III. — By the terms of this his 
private crown jewels are devoted to 
the discharge of his legacies, and 
other remembrances are made to 
general officers. 

IV. — Further remembrances, among 
them one to Cantillon (q.v.), and gives 
directions for the management of the 
trust. 

V. — Still further legacies to numer- 
ous beneficiaries. 

Williams, Helen Mari a.— 
Was a popular English hostess in Paris 



464 



WYNANDAEU 

during- the winter of 1802-3. She was 
on intimate terms with Mme. de Stael, 
and her five o'clock tea table, that 
truly Eng-lish institution which has 
so often been admired and copied by 
other countries, was always sur- 
rounded by the society leaders of the 
Paris of her day. She translated 
Humboldt's Vues des CordilUres in 
1814. 

Wynandael, Battle of. — An action 
foug^ht between a French and a smaller 
British force under General Webb on 
28 Sept. 1808. The former attempted 
to cut off the British, who were carry- 
ing- supplies! tO' the army which was 
besieg-ing Lille, but in spite of their 
superior numbers they were utterly 
defeated. 



ZNAilM 



Znaim, Battle o-f (Wagram Cam- 
paign).— After their defeat at Wagram 
(6 July 1809) the Austrians under the 
Archduke Charles, being hard pressed 
in their retreat by Mass^na, took up a 
strong position at Znaim. On the i ith 
Massena attacked the position and 
drove the Austrians into the town, 
where the artillery had been so well 
arranged by the Archduke that the 
French were beaten back. N., being- 
aware of MasSi^na's difficulties, ordered 
Marmont's corps to relieve the pres- 
sure, but during- the fierce struggle 
which ensued an armistice was 
arranged which put an end to the 
fighting. 



465 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL 

EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE LIFE AND 

TIMES OF NAPOLEON 



1768 Jan. 7 

1769 June 



Age 



1769 Aug. 15 — 



Nov. ^o — 



1770 April — 



1771 July 21 I 



Sept. 13 
1772 May 

1774-5 

1774 May 10 

1775 May 

1776 Mar. 28 



1778 



1779 



1780 

1782 
1783 
1784 



1785 



1785 

to 

1795 

1785 



May 
Nov. 

Sept. 2 
Dec. 12 

Jan. I 
Apl. 20 
Apl. 25 

June 

June 15 

June 21 

Sept. 15 

Oct. 30 
Nov. 15 
Feb. 24 

Sept. 

Nov. 



12 
13 
14 



15 



16 



16 
26 



Birth of Joseph Buonaparte at Ajaccio, Corsica. 

Carlo Buonaparte, the father of N., swears fealty to Louis XV., and 

thus becomes a French subject. 
Birth of N. at Ajaccio, Corsica. 
" The Corsican people when exhausted by producing martyrs to the 

cause of I^iberty, produced Napoleon Bonaparte." Jacobi. 
Carlo Buonaparte receives the degree of Doctor of Laws from the 

University of Pisa. 
Flight of Paoli to England. 
Edict of Louis XV. whereby all Corsicans who can prove their possession 

of nobility for 200 years are admitted into the French nobility 

and the enjoyment of its privileges. The father of N. makes 

application. 
Baptism of N. 
" I was called Napoleon, that having been for centuries past the name 

given to the second sons in our family." 
Declaration issued stating that the Buonaparte nobility is established. 
Carlo Buonaparte becomes one of the Twelve Nobles of Corsica and 

Assessor to the Court of Ajaccio. 
N. is sent by his mother to a girls' school. 
Death of Louis XV. 
Famine riots at Versailles. 
Loms XVI. offers free education to the children of poor but noble 

parents, Corsicans being included. Carlo Buonaparte makes 

application on behalf of his sons Joseph and Napoleon. 
Ttirgot dismissed. 
Ministry of Necker. 

Louis XVI. assists America against Great Britain. 
Birth of Lotiis Buonaparte. 
Carlo Buonaparte leaves Corsica with his two sons, Joseph and Napoleon, 

on their way to Autun. 
N. and Joseph enter the school at Autun. 
N. leaves Autun for the military college at Brienne. 
N. enters Royal Military College, Brienne. 
First Armed Neutrality. 

N. is visited at Brienne by his father and mother. 
N. abandons the navy for the army, choosing the artillery. 
N. writes to his uncle Fesch concerning Joseph's wish to change his 

profession. This is the earliest letter extant of N.'s. 
N. is visited by his father who brings Lucien as pensionnaire at Brienne 

and Elisa to be a royal pupil at St. Cyr. 
Examination at Brienne. N. is selected with four others^to go to the 

Ecole Militaire at Paris. 
N. leaves Brienne for Paris. 
Jerome Buonaparte born. 
Death of N.'s father, aged 39, at Montpellier, through cancer 'pi the 

stomach. 
N. obtains commission as Second Lieutenant of Artillery being the first 

Corsican to do so. 
N. with his friend Desmazis joins the regiment of La Ferein garrison 

at Valence. 

>N. is engaged chiefly in garrison Muty. 

The famous diamond necklace incident. 
467 



Chronological Table 



1786 



1787 



1788 



1789 







Age 


Apl. 


26 


i6 


May- 
Sept. 


3 
9 
I 


I? 


.. 


Jf5 


— 


Feb. 
Apl. 
Aug. 


20 

22 

I 


— 


Sept. 


12 


i8 


Nov. 
Dec. 
Jan 
Apl. 


22 

I 

24 


— 


June 
Aug. 


T 

22 


19 


Nov. 
Apl. 


6 
2 


— 



1790 



Jlay 5 



June 17 — 

,. 20 — 

July 14 — 

„ 17 — 

„ 19 — 

,, 21 - — 

Aug. 8 — 

,. 23 20 

Sept. — 



Oct.-Dec. — 

Nov. 5 — 

., 30 — 



Mar. 
Apl. 8 

9 
„ 16 

,, 22 

July 14 



During this year N. meets Caroline Colonibier, his first love. " The 

cherry idyll." Also devotes much time to study and writing. 
N. writes : " To-day Paoli enters his sixty-first year. The Corsicans 

have already . . . shaken off the yoke of the Genoese, they can 

do the same to that of the French." 
N. writes on " Suicide " and " Patriotism." 
N. writes on " Rousseau " and " Religion." 
Having obtained furlough N. leaves Valence for Corsica, breaking his 

joturney at Aix to see his uncle Fesch and Ivucien. 
N. arrives at Ajaccio after an absence of seven years and nine months. 

Spends his time roving the country, reading and writing. 
Death of Marbeuf, friend and patron of the Buonaparte family. 
Assembly of Notables meets. 

N. writes to Tissot thanking him for his tribute to Paoli. 
All officers on leave recalled to their regiments in expectation of war 

with Prussia. 
N. leaves Corsica for France. At Marseilles receives cancel of the 

recall but proceeds to Paris. His application for extended leave 

in order to assist at the deliberations of the Estates of Corsica is 

granted. 
N. writes the Rencontre au Palais Royal. 
N. leaves Paris for Corsica. 
N. arrives at Ajaccio. 
Joseph Buonaparte takes his degree at Pisa and returns to Ajaccio, 

spending some time with N. 
N. leaves Corsica to rejoin his regiment at Auxonne. 
N. writes to his uncle Fesch describing his part in a commission nom- 
inated by the commander of the Artillery School at Auxonne as 

to the possibility of using cannon for the discharge of bombs. 
Second meeting of the Assembly of Notables. 
N. proceeds to the town of Seurre with a force to quell riots there, the 

mob having murdered two merchants suspeicted of cornering grain. 

N. calls out to the crowd " lyct honest men go to their homes, 

I only fire upon the mob." 
Meeting of the States-General at Versailles, the session being opened 

by Louis XVI. 308 ecclesiastics, 2S5 nobles, and 621 deputies (the 

tiers-Hat). 
The Tiers-Etat constitutes itself the National Assembly. 
The Tiers-Etat meets in the tennis court and establishes a new con- 
stitution. 
Fall of the Bastille. 

Louis XVI. wears the revolutionary cockade. 
Riot at Auxonne, the mob sack the offices of the tax collectors and 

N.'s regiment takes the part of the rioters. 
The officers restore discipline and disperse the mob. 
N. applies for winter leave to return to Corsica. 
N. and his brother officers take the new oath. 
N. leaves Auxonne for Corsica after a stay of 15 months. Visits the 

Abbe Raynal, a champion of the Revolution at Marseilles. Arrives 

at Ajaccio at the end of the month. N. heads the revolutionary 

party in Ajaccio. 
Emigration of the nobUity from France. 
The municipal officers of Bastia (the capital of Corsica) insist on the 

formation of a town guard as in France. 
Saliceti urges in the National Assembly that Corsica be incorporated 

with France. It is proclaimed part of French territory. Mirabeau 

proposes that the Corsican patriots in exile be permitted to 

return. 
Joseph Buonaparte is elected municipal officer at Ajaccio. 
Paoli, on his way to Corsica stops at Paris and is received at court by 

Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette. 
The Comite Superieur of Corsica send delegates to meet Paoli. 
N. writes to his colonel asking for an extension of leave owing to the 

state of his health. 
Paoli is invited to appear before the National Assembly. He is received 

with acclamations as the hero and martyr of liberty. 
First anniversary of the fall of the Bastille. Confederation of Champ 

de Mars. France declared a limited monarchy. Louis XVI. 

swears to maintain the constitution. 

468 



Chronological Table 



1790 



I79I 



July 17 


Age 
20 


Aug. 
to 


— 


Oct. 




Aug. 3 
Oct. 15 


21 


Jan. 6 


— 


Jan. 





(end of) 
Feb. 12 




Apl. 2 


— 


June 16 


— 


„ 21 





July 14 
Aug. 






1792 



Aug. 
Sept. 


4 

22 


Oct. 


15 
19 


Jan. 


I 


M 


14 


Feb. 





" 


25 


Apl. 


I 


Easter 
Apl. 12 


May 


13 

28 


June 


20 


July 


10 


Aug. 


10 


" 


19 
26 


Sept. 


30 
I 


„ -2-5 

:, 9 
.. 20 


,, 


22 



23 



Paoli lands at Bastia. N. and his brother Joseph are attacked in the 
streets and nearly murdered. A procession of monks attack them 
with cries of " Death to the Jacobins." They are rescued with 
difficulty. 
Joseph is elected_ deputy for Ajaccio to the Congress at Orezza with 
Paoli as president. N. accompanies his brother. On the journey 
they meet Paoli and with him pass the fatal bridge at Ponte 
Nuovo. Some of N.'s criticisms aroused Paoli's displeasure. 
Peace of Varela (between Russia and Sweden). 
N.'s leave comes to an end. He embarks for France but the ship is 

twice beaten back by contrary winds. He stays on at Ajaccio. 
iST. is present at the opening of the Globo Patriottico, a revolutionary 

club at Ajaccio. 
N. leaves Ajaccio to join his regiment accompanied by his brother 

Ivouis, now 12 years of age. 
N. reaches Auxonne and is welcomed by his colonel. 
Death of Mirabeau. 
N. is transferred to the 4th Regiment stationed at Valence. Arrives 

there with I/ouis. 
■The flight of the King and royal family, who are arrested at Varennes. 
Second anniversary of the fall of the Bastille. 

N. applies for leave. Colonel Compagnon refuses. N. resolves to apply 
to Du Teil, and walks all the way to his chateau of Pommier in 
the department of the Isere. He remains on a visit of several 
days. His host remarks to his daughter . " That is a man of 
great ability ; his name will be heard of." Leave being granted, 
N. starts for Corsica with Louis. 
Austro-Turkish treaty at Sistova. 
N. arrives in Corsica. Paoli who is master of the island is now cool 

towards the Buonapartes. 
Death of N.'s great-uncle, the archdeacon Lucciano Buonaparte. 
Treaty of Drottningholm, a defensive treaty between Sweden and 

Russia against revolutionary France. 
Review of the regiment of La Fdre at Valence. " Bonaparte, First 

Lieutenant, whose leave has expired, is in Corsica." 
N.'s appointment as adjutant of the Corsican Volunteers is sanctioned 

by the French Minister of War. 
N. proceeds to Corte. 

N. is now regarded as an emigrd by the French authorities. Against 

his name in a list of lieutenants appears the following note : " Has 

given up his profession and has been replaced on 6 Feb. 1792." 

N. is appointed Adjutant-Major of the Corsican Volunteers. 

The Directory issue an order for the suppression of the convents of 

Ajaccio, BavStia, Bonifacio, and Corte. 
N. is elected Lieutenant-Colonel of the Corsican Volunteers and forfeits 

his French commission by outstaying his leave. 
N. fails in an attempt to seize Ajaccio. 

Commissioners arrive and demand that citizens and volunteers alike 
lay down their arms. N. proceeds to Corte and has an unpleasant 
interview with Paoli at Montecello. 
N. acquaints Joseph with his intention to return to France. 
N. arrives in Paris as a private person. 
N. views the attack by the mob on the Tuileries. 
First coalition against France. Beginning of the great French wars, 

1792-1815. 
N. is reinstated in his regiment and granted his arrears of pay, also 

promoted captain. 
N. witnesses the second attack on the Tuileries and the massacre of the 

Swiss Guards, 5,000 persons killed. 
Revolutionary tribunal set up. 

Decree of National Assembly against the priests, 40,000 exiled. 
N. receives his brevet of captain. 
N. removes his sister Elisa from school of St. Cyr. They are in Paris 

during the September massacres. 
Massacre in Paris, 1,200 killed, among the number being 100 priests. 
N. and his sister Elisa leave Paris. 
National Convention opened. 
The Convention establishes a Republic. 
The Republic proclaimed. 

469 



Chronological Table 



Age 

1792 Oct. lo 23 N. and his sister embark at Toulon. 
,, 15 — N. arrives at Ajaccio and is appointed commander of the National 

Guard. 
,, 27 — N. has thoughts of taking service with the British in India, but a French 
plan to attack Sardinia engages his attention. The expedition is 
unsuccessful. 
Dec. — The French fleet arrives at Ajaccio. Riots ensue between the French 

sailors and the Corsicans. 

— Russo-Turkish treaty of J assy. 

1793 Jan. 21 — Execution of Louis XVI. 
,, — Committee of Public Safety established. 

Feb, I — France declares war against Great Britain and Holland. 
,, 22 — N. takes part in an unsuccessful attack on Maddalena. 
Mar. 3 — N. returns to Ajaccio. 

— War in La Vendee. 
Apl. 17 — The Convention orders the arrest of Paoli. N. writes to that body an 

eloquent defence of Paoli. 
Apl.-May — N. unsuccessfully attacks the citadel of Ajaccio. 

May 3 — N. leaves Ajaccio to join Joseph at Bastia, but is captured by the 
Paolists. He escapes and after some exciting adventures reaches 
Bastia. 
,, II — At Bastia N. submits plans to the Commissioners for the capture of 
Ajaccio, and also to get his mother and family away in safety. 
His plan is adopted. 
„ 23 — N.'s mother and the younger children are rescued from Ajaccio. The 

Paolists sack the Casa Buonaparte. 
,, 31 — Reign of Terror begins in France. 
June II — N. flees with his family to France. He leaves the others at Toulon, 
and rejoins his regiment at Nice, receiving commission as capitaine 
commandant. 
July 29 — Publication of N;'s pamphlet, Le Souper de Beaucaire, in favour of the 
Jacobin government. 
,, — N. aids attack on anti-revolutionists at Avignon. 

24 British and Spanish fleets welcomed at Toulon which is anti-revolu- 
tionary. N. assists General Carteaux to besiege the town. 

— N., again in Paris, is appointed Chef de Bataillon in the 2nd regiment 
of artillery. 

— Fall of Lyons. Investing force proceeds to Toulon. 

— Execution of Marie Antoinette. 

— Fall of Toulon. Entry of the French. Terrible reprisals on the in- 
habitants; N. strongly disapproves, but is powerless. 

— N. for his distinguished services at Toulon is made general of brigade. 
Convention between Great Britain and Russia. 

1794 Feb. 6 — N. is assigned to the Army of Italy. 

Hostilities are begun against Austria and Sardinia. 
The Convention approves N.'s plan of campaign. 
The advance under Massena begins. 
The Sardinians are driven back. 
Divisions in the Convention regarding war policy. 
Corsica acknowledges George III. of England as king. 
Augustin Robespierre leaves Army of Italy for Paris, bringing N.'s plan 
of campaign for both the Army of the Alps and that of" Italy. 
July — N. is sent on a secret mission to Genoa. 

,, 19 — N.'s plans are submitted to the Committee of Public Safety and approved. 

The advance into Piedmont is decided upon. 
,, 21 — N. leaves Genoa, having succeeded in his mission. 
,, 23 — Revolution of Thermidor. 
,, 27 — N. returns to Nice. 
,, 28 — Execution of Robespierre. 
Aug. 9 — N. is suspended, and placed under arrest. 

>, 13 — Carnot sends orders to the armies to cease offensive operations. 

,, 14 — N. writes his defence to the Representatives. 

,, 19 25 N. writes to Junot declining to be rescued. " My conscience is easy, 

therefore do nothing, you would only compromise me." 
„ 20 — N. is released, and reinstated. Carnot's instructions are put aside, 

and the offensive resumed. 
» 23 — Carnot orders a general retirement in order to prepare an expedition 
against Corsica. N. writes : " Our next move is to deliver Corsica 
from the tyranny of the English." 

470 



Aug. 


28 


Sept. 


7 


Oct. 
Dec. 


9 
16 
19 


,, 


21 


Feb. 
Apl. 


6 
I 
2 


May 
June 


5 

27 

17 


j^ 


20 



Chronological Table 









-^ge 


1794 


Sept. 


to 






Feb. 


179525 


,, 


Dec. 


15 


— , 


1795 


Mar. 


4 


— . 


.. 


,, 


14 


— 



Mar.-Apl. 



Apl. 5 _ 



May 



2 

7 
10 



,, 20-21- 
June 12 - 



Summer — N 



Aug. 
Sept. 

Oct. 



26 N 



N 



4 — N 

5 — N 



1796 



Oct. 
Feb. 

Nov. 


25 — 
to — 
1796 — 
I — 


Feb. 


9 — 


Mar. 


23 — 
9 — 




12 — 


Api. 


27 — 

4 — 
10 — 


„ 


12 — 


•' 


14 — 

15 — 

22 — 


" 


24 — 


„ 


28 — 


May 


7 — 
10 — 




12 — 


" 


14 — 


" 


15 — 
21 — 



N. proceeds to Toulon to prepare for Corsican expedition. 

Abolition of revolutionary tribunal. 

The expedition for Corsica sets sail. 

The expedition is scattered by the British fleet, the Ca Ira and Cense ur 

being captured. N. is now without a post. 
N. is ordered to command the artillery of the Army of L,a, Vendee. 
He does not desire the post, being anxious to reioin the Army 
of Italy. 
Peace with Prussia. 

In Paris the mob attempts to overthrow the Convention. The 
National Guard under Pichegru and B arras succeed in quelling 
the riots. 
N. sets out for Paris with his brother Louis, also Junot and Marmont. 
Fouquier-Tinville and fifteen others guillotined. 
N. arrives in Paris and lodges at the Hotel Iviberte. 
I Prairial. 

Insurrection of the Faubourgs. 

N. is summoned to command a brigade of infantry in the Army of the 
West, 
evades the command on plea of ill-health. Stays in Paris in hope 
of obtaining something better. Is engaged at the War OfiELce. 
Meets Josephine. 
s plan of campaign for Italy read by the Convention. 
It is proposed to send N. to Constantinople to take service in the army 
of the Grand Turk, 
is appointed second in command under B arras of the Army of the 

Interior. 
Vendemaire, " Paris is ablaze since morning, I must be careful 

and cautious having little enough influence," writes N. 
is summoned to a conference with Carnot, B arras, and others and 
the matter is placed in his hands. 

suppresses the insurrection of 13 Vendemaire. The National 
Guard, the royalists, and the mob rise against the Convention. 
N. disperses them with the famous " whiff of grape-shot " in the 
Rue St. Honore. 
N. is restored to army as general of division. 
N. is appointed to command Army of the Interior. 
N. spends winter in Paris. Applies for command of Army of Italy. 

Devotes much time to Josephine. 
French Directory chosen. 
French Institute established. 

Sir Gilbert Elliott appointed viceroy of Corsica, and opens a parliament. 
N.'s banns of marriage with Josephine proclaimed. 
N. is appointed by Directory to command Army of Italy. 
N. is married to Josephine. He signs the record as "Bonaparte" 
instead of " Buonaparte " and henceforward adheres to the French 
style of spelling his name, 
leaves Paris for Italy. 
N. finds the troops in a deplorable condition. 
N. makes a stirring proclamation to the troops. 
The Italian Campaign opens. 
N. defeats the Austrians at Monte Notte. 
N. defeats the Austrians at Millesimo. 
N. defeats the Austrians at Dego. 

N. defeats the Sardinians (Piedmontese) at Ceva and Mondovi, 
N. writes an indignant letter to the Directory about the condition of 

the army. 
The King of Sardinia signs " Convention of Cherasco" yielding his 

fortresses to France. 
N. attacks Beaulieu and crosses the Po at Piacenza. 
N. forces the passage at the Bridge of Lodi. It was on this occasion 

that the soldiers first called N. " The I^ittle Corporal." 
Babeul's conspiracy suppressed. 
N. writes to the Directory refusing to share his command with General 

Kellermann, 
N. enters Milan as a conqueror. 

Carnot writes to N. to tell him that the Directory have agreed to leave 
him the sole command. 



N, 



Chronological Table 



Age 
1796 May 25 26 Lombardy revolts. Pavia leads the revolt, whereupon N. orders it 
to be pillaged for 24 hours. He however cannot bear the sight, 
and stops it after three hours. 
„ „ 26 — The French occupy Bresoia. 

„ ,, 27 — N. leaves Milan in pursuit of Beaulieu. 

>> M 30-31 — N. defeats Beaulieu and breaks through the Austrian centre at BorghettO; 

thus driving him into the Tyrol. 
,, June — The Corsican revolt suppressed. 

„ June to 

July — N. besieges Mantua. 
„ June 18 — N. enters Modena. 

„ ,, 19 — N. enters Bologna and expels the Papal authorities. 

„ ..23 — N. concludes armistice of Foligno with the Pope. 

,,24 — The French force the passage of the Rhine. 
„ ,, 3" — Josephine arrives at Milan. 

„ July 5 — Moreau defeats the Archduke Charles at Radstadt. 
„ ..13 — N. meets Josephine at Milan. 

,, 14 • — N. leaves Milan. 
„ ,,25-27 — N. at Brescia with Josephine. 

„ ..29 — N. and Josephine are nearly captured by the Austrians. 

,, ,, 30 — N. raises the siege of Mantua. 

,, Aug. 5 — N. defeats Wiirmser at Castiglione, and drives him into the Tyrol 

This completes the " Five Days Campaign." 
„ .,8 — N. re-occupies Verona. 

„ .,11 — N. at Brescia. 

„ — N. invests Mantua again. 

„ ,, 18 27 France and Spain enter into an alliance. 

„ Sept. I — N. leaves Verona for Trent in the Tyrol. 

Jourdan defeated by the Archduke Charles at Wiirtzburg. 
N. defeats the Austrians at Roveredo. 
Rout of Wiirmser at Bassano. He retires to Mantua. 
Spain declares War against Britain. 
Peace with Naples signed. 

Corsica relinquished by Britain. The people declare for the French. 
Advance of General Alvinzi. 

N. writes almost despairingly to the Directory regarding the non- 
arrival of reinforcements. 
N. prepares for battle. 
N. defeats Alvinzi at Areola. 

Death of Empress Catherine II. of Russia. Accession of Paul I. 
N. victorious re-enters Verona. 
Wiirmser makes unsuccessful sortie from Mantua. 
N. allows the formation of the Cispadane Republic. 
1797 Jan. 10 — N. marches to meet the Austrian advance. 

N. defeats Austrians under Alvinzi at Rivoli. 

Massena defeats Austrians at Carpenedolo. 

Wiirmser surrenders Mantua. 

N. invades the Papal States and concludes the Treaty of Tolentino 

with the Pope. 
N. defeats the Archduke Charles on the Tagliamento. 
N. advances against the Archduke Charles in Carinthia, and reaches 

Leoben in Styria. 
Armistice signed at I^eoben. 
N. declares war against Venice. 
Pichegru's conspiracy fails. 
French enter Venice. 
Corfu taken by the French. 

Festival at Milan. Inauguration of the Cisalpine Republic. 
Hoche is appointed Minister of War. 
Talleyrand becomes Minister for Foreign Affairs. 

N. writes on Malta in relation to his schemes for the subjugation of Egypt. 
Revolution of Fructidor. 

N. writes to the Directory suggesting seizure of Malta. 
Treaty of Campo Formio, between France and Austria. 
N. is Minister Plenipotentiary at the Congress of Rastadt. 
N. returns to Paris. The name of the street in which he lives is changed 

to Rue de la Victoire. 
N.'s return is hailed with applause in Paris. He is elected member 
of the Institute. 

472 



., 


3 


„ 


4 


,, 


15 


Oct. 


8 


,, 


10 


,^ 


22 


Nov 


. I 


" 


13 ■ 


,j 


14 • 


,, 


15-17 


,, 


17 - 


,, 


18 - 


,, 


23 - 


Dec. 




Jan. 


10 - 


,, 


14 - 


,, 


26 - 


Feb. 


2 - 


" 


19 - 


Mar. 


16 - 


Apl. 


13 - 


., 17- 


-18 - 


May 


3 - 


" 


16 - 


June 


28 - 


July 


9 - 


,j 


16 - 


J J 


18 - 


Aug. 


10 — 


Sept. 


4 2: 


,, 


13 - 


Oct. 


17 - 


Nov. 


26 - 


Dec. 


5 - 



Chronological Table 





Age 


Dec. 27 


28 


Jan to 




Feb. 





Feb. 15 


— 


Mar. 


— 


April 


— 


„ 25 


— 


May 2 


— 


„ 19 


— 



1797 Dec. 27 28 Riots at Rome, Joseph Bonaparte insulted. 

Treaty of commerce between Great Britain and Russia. 
1798 

N surveys French coast opposite Bngland. 
Berthier proclaims the Roman Republic. 
N. prepares for the Egyptian expedition. 
N. is appointed to command the Army of JEgypt. 
Sir Sidney Smith escapes from Paris. 
N. leaves Paris. Nelson leaves Cadiz. 

N. sails from Toulon. The French fleet weighs anchor at 7 a.m. in the 
light of a magnificent sunrise, the convoy forming a semi-circle six 
leagues in extent. 
JuJie 12 — N. occupies Malta. 
,, — Rebellion in Ireland. 

,, 26 — Nelson's fleet is seen by the French, but a sea-fog screens the French 
expedition from the eyes of the British. 
Nelson arrives at Alexandria but not finding the French he sails again. 
N. reaches Alexandria. 
The French troops disembark. 

The French fleet anchors across the bay of Aboukir. 
Battle of the Pyramids. N. defeats the Mamelukes under Murad 

Bey. 
N. enters Cairo and proceeds to organize Egypt as a French Protectorate. 
Battle of the Nile. French fleet destroyed by Nelson in Aboukir Bay. 
French force lands in Killala Bay (Ireland). 
Turkey declares war with France, and forms an alliance with Britain 

and Russia. 
Insurrection and massacre of Moslems at Cairo. 
Turkish army concentrates at Damascus. 
Capitulation of Ancona. 
1799 Jan. 28 — N. determines to occupy Syria. 
N. invades Syria. 
N. takes El-Arish. 
N. takes Gaza. 

Corfu taken from the French by a Russo-Turkish force. 
N. invests Jaffa. 

N. takes Jaffa by storm. Twelve hundred prisoners, Turks and Arnauts, 
are shot for having violated their capitulation treaty made at 
El-Arish. 
Sir Sidney Smith arrives at Acre with two men-of-war. 
N. invests Acre. 

European coalition against France. 
N. raises the siege of Acre and begins retreat. 
N. en route for Egypt. 
N. re-enters Cairo. 

Turkey, Portugal, and Naples join the coalition against France. 
N. defeats a large Turkish force at Aboukir. 
N. secretly embarks for France. 
N. lands in the bay of Frejus (France). He is rapturously greeted by 

the people. 
N. arrives in Paris, his progress from the coast having been a triumphal 

procession. 
N. concerts measures with Talleyrand and others for the downfall of 
the Directory. 

„ Nov. 9-10 — Revolution of 18 and 19 Brumaire. N. abolishes the Directory 
and seizes the supreme power. Legislature dissolved by force. 
Dec. — The Consulate established. N. created First Consul for ten years. 

Constitution of the year VIII. 
„ „ 26 — N. writes " Letters of Peace " to George III., and the Emperor of 

Austria. 
., 27 — The Moniteur is appointed the sole ofiicial journal. 
>. ,, — Conquest of the Ionian Islands by Russia and Turkey, 

1800 Jan. 17 — N. suppresses sixty out of the seventy-three political newspapers, and 
forbids the publication of any new ones. 
„ Feb. 7 — N. orders France into mourning for General Washington, and sends a 

wreath for his tomb. 
„ „ 13 — Bank of France established. 

,, 19 — N. takes up his residence at the Tuileries. 

„ 20 — Louis XVIII. writes to N. inviting him to play the role of General Monk. 

473 



,, 28 


— ■ 


.. 30 


— 


July 2 


— 


» 3 


— 


• y 21 


— 


„ 26 





Aug. I 


— 


Sept. 12 


29 


Sept.-Oct 


;. 


Oct. 20 





Nov. 





Jan. 28 





Feb. 5-1 


7— 


„ 19 


— 


., 25 


— 


Mar. 3 


— 


.. 4 


— 


., 7 


~ 


,. 15 





„ 29 


— 


April 


— 


May 20 


— 


June 9 


— 


., 14 


— 


,, 22 


— 


July 25 


— 


Aug. 22 


30 


Oct. 9 




., 15 


— 


Oct. -Nov. 






Chronological Table 



Age 
1800 Mar. 30 Negotiations for peace between France and the U.S.A. 

,, ..5 — Interview between N. and Cadoudal. 

„ Apl. 5 — Three more journals suppressed. Theatre censorship established. 
„ „ 18 — Massena is besieged in Genoa. 

,, May 6 — N. sets out on his second Italian campaign. 
„ „ 9 — N. arrives at Geneva and takes the field against Austria. 

„ „ 15 — • The French army crosses the Alps into Italy by the Great St. Bernard 

Pass. The guns are taken over in hollowed tree trunks which are 
hauled by a hundred men, who at the difficult places are inspired 
by drums beating the charge. 
„ „ 20 — N. follows his army. In the descent N. and his staff slide down the 

slippery tracks left by the passing of thousands of men. 
June 2 — N. enters Milan. 
,, ,, 5 — Massena gives up Genoa but retires with all the honours of war. 

„ M 9 — Battle of Montebello. Cannes and Victor defeat the Austrians. N. 

leaves Milan. 
„ .,14 — N. defeats the Atistrians under Melas at Marengo. After saving the 

situation for N. Desaix is shot during the battle. 
Kleber assassinated at Cairo. 
„ .,15 — Convention of Alessandria between N. and Melas. End of the " Cam- 

paign of Thirty Days." 
„ „ 16 — N. writes to the Emperor of Austria for peace, offering to renew the 

Treaty of Campo Formio. 
„ „ 17 — N. returns to Milan and is hailed as the " liberator of Italy." 

,, ,, 19 — Moreau defeats the Austrians at Hochstadt. 

,, ,, 23 — Genoa re-entered by the French. 

„ „ 25 — N. starts for Paris. 

„ ,, 29 — N. at I^yons writes ; " I shall arrive in Paris unexpectedly. I want no 

triumphal arches or any such colifichets. The only real triumph 
is the satisfaction of the people." 
,, July 2 — N. arrives in Paris at midnight. 

,, July-Aug. — N. gives Malta to the Tsar Paul as a Grand Master of the Knights of 
St. John. He also sends home the Russian prisoners well clothed 
and armed. 
,, Aug. — Union of Great Britain and Ireland. 

,, Sept. 5 31 After two years' blockade Malta is surrendered to Britain. The British 
refuse to recognize the Tsar's claim upon it, and he thereupon revives 
the Armed Neutrality I^eague against Britain. 
,, ,, 15 — Armistice between France and Austria in Germany. 

,, Oct. 3 — ■ King George III., to facilitate peace, relinquishes his title of King of 

France. 
„ ,.7 — Secret Convention of St. lidefonso between France and Spain. 

,, Nov. 12 — Renewal of hostilities in Germany and Italy. 

,, 22 — Jerome Bonaparte enters the Navy. 
,, Dec. 3 — Battle of Hohenlinden. Moreau defeats the Austrians who lose eighty 

guns and ig.ooo men. 
,, ,, 24 — Incident of Nivose. Attempt to blow up N., while driving to the 

theatre, with an infernal machine. 

— Second Armed Neutrality. 

— Toussaint L'Ouverture holds San Domingo. 

— Secret treaty of Madrid. 

— Resignation of William Pitt. 

— Peace of Luneville between France and Austria. Dissolution of the 
Second Coalition. 

— British land at Aboukir. 

— Battle of Alexandria. Abercromby defeats Menou. Treaty of Aranjuez 
between France and Spain. 

— Assassination of Tsar Paul I., and accession of Alexander I. 

— Treaty of Florence between France and Naples. 

— Nelson bombards Copenhagen. 

— French evacuate Cairo. 

— N. makes Concordat with the Pope. 

— Nelson unsuccessfully attacks Boulogne. 
32 Nelson again attacks Boulogne but is repulsed, - 

— Battle of Alexandria. Menou surrenders to Hutchinson. Cairo taken 
by the British. 

Oct. I — Preliminaries of peace between France and England signed in London. 
„ 8 — Treaty between France and Russia. 
,. 9 — Treaty between France and Turkey. 

474 



1800-1801 




1801 Jan. 


29 


Feb. 




» 


9 


Mar. 


8 


» 


21 


„ 


24 


»> 1. 


28 


Apl. 


2 


„ June 


7 


.. July 


15 


Aug. 


4 


.. •» 


15 


>t 


31 



Chronological Table 



1801 Dec. 13 



Sept. to 
1802 Jan. 

Jan. 4 

,. 25 

Feb. 3 

,, Mar. 25 

April 
,, May 7 
„ 19 

M 23 

„ 24 

„ June 10 



Age 

32 



Expedition to San Domingo sails from Brest. It is commanded by 
General Leclerc, the husband of Pauline who accompanies him on the 
voyage. 

— N. forms his flotilla in the Channel. 

— Organization of the Cisalpine Republic. 

— Marriage of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense Beauharnais. 

— N. makes himself President of the Italian Republic. 

— Expedition arrives at San Domingo. 
-7 — Peace of Amiens with England, Spain, and Holland. 

Promulgation of Concordat. The Articles Orqaniques passed. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture surrenders to France. 

Institution of the I^egion of Honour. 

Treaty with Prussia. 

Treaty with Bavaria. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture treacherously seized and sent to France (dies 

27 April 1803). 

,, 22 — N. is bitten by a wild boar while hunting at Marly. 
,, 29 — New Government of I/igurian Republic established. Excommunication 

of Talleyrand withdrawn by the Pope. 
Aug. I — N. is proclaimed Consul for life. From this day N. uses his Christian 

name only. 
,, — Constitution of the year X. Elba annexed to France. 

.• 15 33 N.'s 33rd birthday. Anniversary of ratification of Concordat. Festival 

of the Assumption. Paris is illuminated. 
Sept. — N. seizes Piedmont. 

„ 15 — Merry, the English minister-plenipotentiary, presents Charles James 

Fox to N., who is very gracious to him. 
N. interferes in Swiss affairs. 

Death of the Duke of Parma. Duchy of Parma annexed by France. 
Birth of Napoleon Charles, eldest son of l/ouis Bonaparte. 
Treaty with Russia. 
Death of Leclerc at San Domingo. 

The Tsar refuses to agree to Amiens arrangements regarding Malta, 
lyord Whitworth, English ambassador, presented to N. who gives him 

a most flattering reception. 
N. complains to Lord Whitworth of the British delay in evacuating 

Alexandria and Malta. 
Act of Mediation. Settlement of Swiss affairs. 
British troops evacuate Cape of Good Hope. 
N. offers a pension of 2,000,000 francs a year to the Comte de Provence 

(Louis XVIII.), then living at Warsaw, if he will renounce for 

himself and his heirs all claims to the throne of France. 
George III. asks parliament for war supplies. 
N. hears of George III.'s message to Parliament, and makes instant 

preparation for war. 
N. insults Lord Whitworth in the Tuileries. 
British forces leave Alexandria. 

France sells Louisiana to the U.S.A. for 60,000,000 francs. 
Reception of diplomatic corps at the Tuileries. Lord Whitworth 

absents himself. 
Lord Whitworth sends for his passports, but is asked to stay to receive 

the French reply to the British ultimatum. 
Whitworth leaves Paris for Calais. 

Whitworth crosses to England. The French ambassador leaves England. 
Declaration of war by Great Britain. 
France declares war. N. orders arrest of all British subjects — men 

between 18 and 60 years of age — in France. _^ About 10,000 are 

arrested as prisoners of war. 
N. seizes the Electorate of Hanover. 
N. begins his preparations at Boulogne for the invasion of England. 

— St. Lucia captured by the British. 

— Tobago taken by the British. 

— Nelson blockades Toulon. 
— • Emmett's rebellion in Ireland fails. Emmett and others executed on 

20 Sept. 1803. 
34 Georges Cadoudal lands in France. 

— Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo taken by the British. Press cen- 
sorship established bv N. 

475 



.. 30 — 

Oct. 9 — 

.. 10 — 

I. ), II — 

,, Nov. 2 — 

„ 18 — 

,, Dec. 12 — 

1803 Feb. 18 — 

.- 19 — 

., 21 — 

„ 26 — 



Mar. 8 
.1 II 

.. 13 

,, 17 

Apl. 30 

Mav I 



12 

17 
18 
22 



June I — 

.',' 23 — 

., 26 — 

July 8 — 

» 23 — 



Aug. 23 
Sept. 27 



Chronological Table 



1803 Oct. I 

.. 3 

„ Nov. 30 

Dec. 5 



1804- 

1804 



Jan. — 

Feb. 14 — 
„ 15 — 



Mar. I — 



28 

I 

M 9 

.. 15 
.. 20 

.. 21 
April 6 

May 10 



June 24 
., 25 



July 
Aug. 



14 
20 



„ 28 

Oct. 2 

„ 8 

,, II 

„ Nov. 2 

6 

., 25 

„ 28 

Dec. 2 

») »> 3 

„ „ 12 

1805 Mar. 13 

April 

,, May 26 

.' 30 
„ June 

.. July 



Aug. — 



„ Aug. to 

Sept. 

Sept. 27 

Oct. 17 

.. 21 

„ Nov, 14 


" Dec. 


2 
26 


1806 Jan. 
Feb. 




Mar. 




June 

''. July 


6 



Sept. 



34 N. gives instructions for the erection of the Vendome column. 

— N. orders the expulsion from France of Madame de Stael. 

— French evacuate San Domingo. 

— Marriage of Jerome Bonaparte to Elizabeth Patterson at Baltimore. 
Preparations at Boulogne for the invasion of England. 
Pichegru and others enter Paris and endeavour to win over Moreau 

to take part in the Royalist plot. 
Querelle, a prisoner under sentence of death, reveals the plot. 
Arrest of Moreau. 
Arrest of Pichegru. 
N. receives information implicating the Due d'Enghien. 

— Arrest of Georges Cadoudal. 

— The Due d'Enghien is arrested. 

— The Due d'Enghien arrives at Vincennes at half-past five in the even- 
ing, and is shot at half-past two next morning, 

— The Civil Code passed by the Corps Legislatif. 

— Pichegru found strangled in his cell. 

— Pitt returns to office. 

— N. is created Emperor by decree of the Senate with the name of " Na- 
poleon." 

— Franco-Dutch Treaty. 

— Execution of Cadoudal. 

— Moreau sails for America — his sentence of two years' imprisonment 
having been remitted on condition that he does so. 

— The Legion of Honour established. 

35 Death of Admiral I^atouche Treville at Toulon. N.'s plans again 
delayed. 

— Villeneuve is appointed to command the Toulon squadron. 

— Sir Sidney Smith unsuccessfully attacks the Boulogne flotilla. 

— Dessalines crowned Emperor of San Domingo. 

— Birth of Napoleon Ivouis, second son of Louis Bonaparte. 

— The Pope leaves Rome for Paris to be present at N.'s coronation. 

— Secret convention between Austria and Russia. 

— N. meets the Pope between Nemours and Fontainebleau. 

— N. and the Pope enter Paris. 

— N. crowned at Notre Dame. 

— Treaty between Great Britain and Sweden. 

— Spain declares war against Great Britain. 

— N. is proclaimed King of Italy. 

— Treaty of St. Petersburg between Great Britain and Russia. 

— N. crowned King of Italy at Milan. 

— France annexes the lyigurian RepubUc. 

— Code Napoleon extended to Italy. 

— N. visits the camp at Boulogne. 

— Accession of Austria to treaty between Great Britain and Russia, 
Battle of Cape Finisterre. 
Third coalition against France. 
War with Austria and Russia. 

Grand Army marches from Boulogne to Bavaria, 

N. joins army at Strasburg. 

N. forces the Austrian general Mack to surrender at Ulm. 

Battle of Trafalgar at the close of which Nelson was mortally wounded, 

N. arrives at palace of Schonbrunn, Vienna. 

Convention between Prussia and the Allies. 

N. defeats the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz, 

Treaty of Schonbrunn with Austria. 

France annexes Genoa. 

Death of Pitt. Fox becomes Prime Minister, 

N. returns to Paris. 

Treaty of Paris between France and Prussia. 

N. makes Joseph Bonaparte kiug of the two Sicilies. 

Formation of the grand- duchy of Berg 

N. abolishes the Holy Roman Empire. 

N. makes Louis Bonaparte king of Holland. 

N. forms the Confederation of the Rhine. 

— N. creates kingdoms of Bavaria and Wiirttembuxg. 
4 — Battle of Maida. 

37 War with Prussia. 

476 



36 



Chronological Table 



Age 

1806 Sept. 13 37 Death of Fox. Ministry of all the Talents. 
,, Oct. 14 — N. defeats Prussians at Jena and Auerstadt. 
,, „ 27 — N. enters Berlin as conqueror. 

Nov. 21 — N. issues " Berlin Decree " against British commerce. 

,, Dec. — N. marches against the Russians. 

„ 28 — Battle of Pultusk. 

,, ,, '- War between Russia and Turkey. 

,, „ — France absorbs Dalmatia and Ragusa. 

,, — Venice added to the kingdom of Italy. 

1807 Feb. 8 — N. defeats Russians and Prussians at Eylau. 
,, ,, — British expedition to Turkey and Egypt. 

Mar. — Portland ministry formed. Canning becomes Foreign Secretary. 

,, Apl. — Convention of Bartenstein between Russia, Prussia, and Sweden. 

,, May 26 — Capitulation of Danzig. 

,, June — Great Britain accedes to the Convention of Bartenstein. 

,, ,, 14 — N. defeats Russians and Prussians at Friedland. 

„ ,, 25-26 — N. has conference with Tsar Alexander on a raft on the river Niemen. 

,, July 8 — - Peace of Tilsit between France, Rus-sia, and Prussia. 

,, ,, — Formation of the grand-duchy of Warsaw. 

,, ,, — Extension of Confederation of the Rhine. 

„ Aug. — N. returns to Paris. 

, ., 19 38 N. suppresses the Tribunate. 

,, ,, — N. makes his brother, Jerome, king of Westphalia. 

,, Sept. — English seize Danish fleet at Copenhagen. 

„ Oct. — Stein becomes minister of Home Afiairs in Prussia; Prussian Edict 

of Emancipation ; Scharnhorst's military reforms. 

,, ,, — Franco-Spanish treaty signed at Fctfitainebleau. 

„ Nov. — N. invades Portugal. French occupy I^isbon. Flight of Portuguese 

royal family. 

,, ,, — Russia declares war on Great Britain, 

„ Dec. — N. occupies Tuscany. 

,, ,, 17 — Milan Decree against British commerce. 

,, — Abolition of slavery in British dominions. 

— Simplon road connecting France and Italy completed. 

1808 Jan. — N. returns to Paris. 

,, ,, 27 — Portuguese royal family reach Rio de Janeiro. 

,, Feb. 2 — Rome entered by French troops. 

,, ,, — French invade Spain. 

,, Mar. 19 — Abdication of Charles IV. of Spain; his son proclaimed king as 

Ferdinand VII. 

,, ,, 27 — The Pope excommunicates N. 

„ „ — Russian invasion of Finland. 

„ ,, — Constitution of the Imperial University of France. 

,, ,, — Revolution of Aranjuez. 

,, ,, — New nobility of France created. 

May 2 — Great insurrection (the Dos Mayo) at Madrid. 

6 Ferdinand VII. abdicates on compulsion at Bayonne. 

„ June 6 — N. makes his brother, Joseph, king of Spain. 

„ ,, — Insurrection in Spain. 

,, ,, 15 — • French squadron at Cadiz surrenders to Spaniards. 

.. July 4 — Peninsular War begins. England, Spain, and Portugal against France. 

,, .,15 — N. makes Murat king of Naples and Sicily. 

., ,,19 — Dupont capitulates at Bay! en with over 20,000 men, a third of the 

French forces in Spain. 

,, Aug. — Sir Arthur Wellesley arrives in Spain. 

,, 21 39 Battle of Vimiera. 

,, ,,30 Convention of Cintra. 

,, Sept. 8 — Convention of Paris between France and Prussia. 

„ 22 — N. leaves St. Cloud for Erfurt. 
Sept. 27 '\ 

to V — N. has conference with the Tsar, Alexander I., at Erfurt. 
Oct. 14 J 

„ ,, 12 — Treaty of Tilsit renewed. 

,, ,, 26 — N. leaves Paris for Spain. 

,, Dec. 4 — N. enters Madrid, receives capitulation, and abolishes the Inquisition. 
N. directs movements to clear Spain of British troops. 

,,22 — N. leaves Madrid to operate against Sir John Moore, 

1809 Jan. 16 — Battle of Corunna. Death of Moore. 

,, „ Treaty of the Dardanelles between Great Britain and Turkey. 

477 



Chronological Table 



1809 



Jan. 
Mar. 



Apl. 12 



Age 
39 



1810 



,, 


15 


,, 


20 


,, 


21 


,, 


22 


,, 


23 


May 


12 


,, 


17 


May 


21 


and 


22 


June 


10 


July 


6 


,, 


5-6 


" 


6 


,, 27-2 


Oct. 


12 


.. 


14 




22 


,, 


26 


Dec. 


16 


Jan. 




Feb. 


20 


Mar. 


II 


Apl. 


I 


July 




Aug. 





40 



Sept. 6 41 



Oct. 



Dec. 



27 



1811 Feb. 28 — 



„ Mar. 


20 




„ Mar. 


and 




April 


— 


,, June 


2 


— 


Dec. 


19 


42 


812 April 




— 


>, May 


19 

28 


— 


June 


24 

28 


— 


'.' Jul'y 


22 


— 


Ati^. 


18 


43 


Sept. 


7 




11 .1 


14 


— 


1. ). 


15 


— 



N. returns to Paris. 

N. prepares for war with Austria. He writes : " I am leaving my best 
troops with. J oseph, and am starting alone for Vienna with my little 
conscripts, my name, and my long boots." 

N., at Paris, hears at 8 p.m. that Austria has declared war. He leaves 
for the front two hours later. 

Great Britain unites with Austria against France. 

N. crosses the Rhine at Strasburg. 

N. defeats the Austrians at Abensberg. 

N. defeats the Austrians at Landshut. 

N. defeats the Austrians at Eckmiihl. 

Austrians driven from Ratisbon. 

N. enters Vienna after bombarding it. 

N. annexes States of the Church to France. 

N., in attempting to cross the Danube in the face of the enemy, is 
defeated by the Archduke Charles at Aspern and Essling. 

N. is again excommunicated by the Pope. 

Arrest of the Pope. 

N. crosses the Danube during the night. 

Battle of Wagram, the Archduke Charles is defeated. 

Wellesley expels Soult from Portugal. 

Battle of Talavera. 

Attempt on the life of N. by Staps, the son of a I^utheran pastor of 
Erfurt. 

Treaty of Schonbrunn with Austria. 

N. annexes Tuscany and the Papal States. 

N. leaves Vienna for Paris. 

N. arrives at Fontainebleau. 

N. divorces Josephine. 

Treaty of Paris between France and Sweden. 

French conquest of Andalusia. 

Hofer shot at Mantua. 

Rome becomes the second city of the French Empire. 

N. marries the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria by proxy at Vienna. 

The marriage of N. with Marie Louise at St. Cloud. 

France annexes Holland. 

France annexes Westphalia. 

Massena invades Portugal. 

Trianon Tariff. 

N. writes to Charles XIII. of Sweden granting permission to Bernadotte 

to accept the position of Crown Prince of that country. 
Lines of Torres Vedras formed. 
Battle of Busaco. 
Fontainebleau Decrees. 
Sweden declares war on Great Britain. 
France annexes N.W. coast of Germany. 

Russians throw up earthworks on the Dwina and Dneister. 
N. writes to the Tsar expostulating with him for his secret agreement 

with Great Britain. 
Birth of the King of Rome. 

Massena retreats from Portugal into Spain. 

Baptism of the King of Rome at Notre Dame. 

N. asks for the most detailed accounts to be had in French of the cam- 
paign of Charles XII. in Russia and Poland. 

N. declares war with Russia. 

Secret alliance between Sweden and Russia. 

N. arrives at Dresden. 

Peace of Bucharest between Russia and Turkey. 

N. crosses the Niemen. 

N. occupies Vilna and sets up provisional government. 

Peace between Great Britain, Russia, and Sweden. 

Battle of Salamanca. 

Wellington enters Madrid. 

N. drives the Russians from Smolensk. 

N. defeats the Russians at Borodino. 

N. enters Moscow. 

Great fire of Moscow begins. Four hundred incendiaries shot by the 
French. 

478 



Chronological Table 



1812 



1813 



IH 



Age 
Oct. 20 43 



Nov. 2 6-2 7 — 
Dec. 5 — 



Feb. 
and 
Mar. 

Apl. 15 — 

.. I? — 

May 2 — 

„ 20-I — 

June 4 — 

Aug. 26 44 

Oct. 7 — 
,, 16-9 — 

Nov. 2 — 

., 9 — 
Dec. to 

Jan. — 

„ 18 — 

.. 25 — 
,. 29-30 — 

Feb. I — 

10 — 

,, II — 

., 12 — 

.. 13 — 

Feb. and 

Mar. — 

Mar. — 

.. 31 — 

Apl. II — 

May 4 — 



1815 



„ 29 — 

Sept. 30 45 

Nov. — 

J an. — 

Feb. 26 — 

Mar. I • — 
Mar. 13 to 

June 22 — 

Mar. 20 — 



„ 29 

June I 

,. 12 

.. 15 

„ 16 

„ 18 

.. 21 

.. 22 

,. 29 

J^iiy 3 



K. leaves Moscow after blowing up the Kremlin. The retreat was a 

vast and sanguinary rout. 
Malet's conspiracy in Paris. 
N. passes the Beresina. 
N. leaves his army and proceeds to Paris. 
N. arrives in Paris. 

War between Great Britain and America. 
Uprising of Germany. 

Alliance of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, against France. 
War of Liberation begins. 
N. marches from St. Cloud for Mayence to meet the wreck of his Grand 

Army. 
N. arrives at Mayence, having covered the distance in 40 hours. 
Battle of lyiitzen. N. with an army of conscripts defeats the veteran 

troops of the Russo-Prussian Army. 
N. defeats the Allies at Bautzen. 
N. makes armistice of Aug. 11. 
Battles of Vittoria and the Pyrenees. 
Battle of Dresden. The Allies now joined by Austria are defeated 

by N. 
British under Wellington enter France from Spain. 
N., after practically defeating the Allies at Leipsic, has to retreat 

owing to shortage of ammunition. 
N. recrosses the Rhine at Mayence. 
N. arrives in Paris. 



IS — 



France is invaded by the Allies. 

N. exclaims : " If I had had 30,000 rounds at Leipsic ... I should 

to-day be master of the world." 
N. takes the field from Paris. 
N. defeats the Prussians at Brienne. 
N. is defeated at La Rothiere. Retreats on Paris. 
N. defeats Bliicher at Champaubert. 
N. defeats Bliicher at Montmirail. 
N. defeats Bliicher at Chateau Thierry. 
N. defeats Bliicher at Vauchamp. 

FutUe congress at Chatillon-sur -Seine. 

Indecisive battles at Laon and Craonne. 

Allies enter Paris and establish a provisional government. 

N. deposed by Senate. He signs abdication at Fontainebleau. 

N. lands in Flba. 

First Peace of Paris. 

l/ouis XVIII. arrives in Paris. 

Death of Josephine at Malmaison. 

Congress of "Vienna assembles. 

Election of Charles XIII. of Sweden to the throne of Norway. 

Defensive triple alliance of Great Britain, Austria, and France, 

N. organizes balls and other festivities in Elba. 

N. sails from Elba. 

N. lands at a point near Cannes, in France. 

The Hundred Days. 

N. enters Paris without having fired a shot. 

Flight of Louis XVIII. 

Treaty signed by Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia against ^N. 

N. abolishes the slave trade. 

The Acte Additionnel sworn to at Paris.^ 

N. leaves Paris for Belgium. 

N. crosses the Belgian frontier. 

N. defeats Bliicher at Ligny. 

Battle of Waterloo. 

N. reaches Paris. 

N.'s second abdication. 

N. leaves Malmaison for RochefortTintending to go to the United 

States. 
N. arrives at Rochefort. 
Louis XVIII. re-enters Paris. 
N. surrenders to Captain Maitland on board H.M.S. Belhrophon. 

A79 



Chronological Table 



1815 


July 24 
Aug. 8 


Age 

45 


" 


Oct. 15- 

i6 
Nov. 
Dec. 7 


■46 


" 


.. 9 


— 


1816 
1818 


Jan, 12 
Apl. 
June 
July 25 


48 


1820 


Sept. 
Oct. 25 

Nov. 19 


49 
51 


1821 


Apl. 2 


— 


.. 


=.- 19 


— 


1821 

1832 
1840 


May 5 

May 12 


— 



N. at Torbay. 

N. in Plymouth Sound. 

N. sails for St. Helena on board H.M.S. Northumberland, with Admiral 

Sir George Cockburn. 
N. arrives and lands at St. Helena, where he remained a prisoner for 

life. 
Second Peace of Paris. 
Execution of Marshal Ney. 
N. begins his residence at Ivongwood. 
Joseph Bonaparte resides in the U.S.A. 

Family of N. excluded from France for ever by the law of amnesty. 
Sir Hudson Lowe assumes charge at St. Helena. 

N. dictates his memoirs to his aides-de-camp Gourgaud and Montholon. 
Dr. O'Meara leaves St. Helena, the British government having signed an 

order for his removal. 
N,'s health declines. 

" Perhaps Death will soon put a term to my sufferings," N. remarks. 
" What a pleasant thing is rest : my bed has become a place of happi- 
ness for me ; I would not exchange it for all the thrones of the 
universe." 
" A comet ! It was the omen foretold the death of Caesar." 
" I wish my ashes to rest by the banks of the Seine in the midst of the 

people of France whom I loved so dearly." 
" I feel the end drawing near ... I shaU meet the brave in the 

Elysian Fields." 
Death of N. about 6 p.m. 
Joseph Bonaparte visits England. 

The Chambers decree the removal of N.'s remains from St. Helena to 
France. 
,, Oct. 15 N.'s remains taken from the tomb at St. Helena by permission of the 

English government. 
„ „ 16 N.'s remains embarked on board the Belle Poule, French frigate under 

the command of the Prince de Joinville. 
„ Nov. 30 The Belle Poule reaches Cherbourg. 

,, Dec. 15 Remains deposited at the Hotel des Invalides. 

1841 Aug. 15 (N.'s birthday). Bronze statue of N. placed on column of Grande Arm ee 

at Boulogne. 
Joseph Bonaparte settles in Italy. 
1844 July 28 Joseph Bonaparte dies at Florence. 

1846 ,, 15 Death of Louis Bonaparte. 

1852 Feb. 17 N.'s birthday (Aug. 15) decreed to be the only national holiday. 

1861 N.'s remains finally placed in the crypt of the Hotel des Invalides. 



480 



SELECT CLASSIFIED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

ThH present bibliography, the works included in which have been selected chiefly because 
of their utilitarian character, aims at providing what has hitherto been a desideratum not 
readily to the hand of the student of Napoleonic affairs. Its main design is to guide him 
to such works as present not only a general view of each of the phases of the Emperor's career 
and personality, but also to those which provide an expert and specialized opinion thereon. 

It is hoped that no English work of importance has been omitted from the list, but the 
enormous growth of books dealing with Napoleana has, of late years, rendered the task of 
compiling its bibliography one of increasing difficulty, and it is hoped that, on this 
account, if on no others allowances will be made. 

The scheme of the bibliography is as follows : — 

I. General Biography and History. {c) Marriages. 

II. Personal Biography. {d) Children. 

(a) Early Life. IV. Entourage. 

(b) Revolutionary Days. (a) Marshals and Generals. 

(c) The Consulate and Empire. {b) Politics, Court, and Society. 
{d) Elba. V. Naval and Military Affairs. 

(e) St. Helena. (a) The Army. 

(/) Private Life. (&) Military Campaigns. 

III. Ancestry and Family. (c) The Navy and Naval Ac- 

(a) Genealogy. tions. 

(6) Brothers and Sisters. VI. Memoirs. 

I.— GENERAL BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY 

The main sources for N.'s biography are : — 
Correspondance de NapolSon I., edited by an Imperial Commission appointed by Napoleon 

III. 32 Vols. Paris, 1858-69. 
Lettres inSdites de NapoUon I., edited by ly. Lecestre. 2 Vols. Paris, 1897. Eng. edn. 

trans, by Lady Mary Loyd. i Vol. London, 1897. 
Lettres incites de NapoUon I., edited by L. de Brotonne. Paris, 1898. 
Supplement to the above. Paris, 1903. 

A. FOURNIER. NapoUon I., a Biography (trans, into English by Annie Elizabeth Adams). 

2 Vols. London, 1914. 
R. M. Johnston. The Covsican [a Diary 0/ Napoleon's Life in his own words) London, 1910. 
J. Hoi<i<AND Rose. Life of Napoleon I. 2 Vols. London, 1902. 

„ ,, The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Era. Cambridge, 1895. 

„ „ Napoleonic Studies. London, 1904. 

P. CoouEi,i<E. Napoleon and England (trans, by G. D. Knox, with an introduction by 

J. Holland Rose). London, 1894. 
R. C. SeaTon. Napoleon's Captivity in Relation to Sir Hudson Lowe. London, 1903. 
Major Arthur Griffiths. Life of Napoleon. London, 1902. 
J. R. Seei*EY. a Short History of Napoleon I. London, 1886. 

W. M. Si,OANE. Life of Napoleon. 4 Vols, (very fully illustrated). New York, 1896. 
Sir a. Aj.ison. History of Europe, 1789-1815. 10 Vols. Edinburgh, 1833-42. 
P. LanFrey. Histoire de Napoleon I. 5 Vols. Paris, 1867-75. 
Napoleon, Louis Bonaparte, Prince. Des Idees NapoUoniennes. London, 1839. 
R. Peyre. Napoleon I. et son temps. Paris, x888. 
Sir Walter Scott. Life of Napoleon Buonaparte. Edinburgh, 1828. 
J. G. LockharT. History of Napoleon Buonaparte. Edinburgh, 1828. 
H. A. L. Fisher. Napoleon (in Home University Library). London, 1913. 
T. P. O'Connor. Napoleon. London, 1896. 

J. ASHTON. English Caricature and Satire on Napoleon I. 2 Vols. London, 1884. 
A. M. Broadley. Napoleon in Caricature (i 795-1821). 2 Vols. London, 1911. 
Viscount Woi^SEI^EY. Decline and Fall of Napoleon. 2nd edn. London, 1895. 
J. A. C. Tyti^er. France in 1802. (Yorke's letters.) London, 1899. 
Sir a. W. WiIvSON. A Diary of St. Helena (1816-17). London, 1899, 
Cambridge Modern History. Vol. VIII. (French Revolution), and Vol. IX. (Napoleon), 
Cambridge, 1904, 1906. 

2 F 481 



Select Classified Bibliography 

II.— PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY 

[a) EARLY LIFB. 
Oscar Browning. Napoleon, the First Phase, some chapters on the Boyhood and Youth of 

Napoleon (1769-93). London, 1905. 
CosTON. Biographie des premUres annSes de NapoUon Bonaparte. 1840. 
F. Masson. NapoUon inconnu. 2 Vols. Paris, 1895 (composed on the authority of 

hitherto unedited letters of Napoleon and his youthful compositions). 
A. ChuQUET. La jeunesse de NapoUon. 3 Vols. Paris, 1897-99. (A conclusive work, wide 

in scope and impartial in treatment.) 
T. Nasica. Memoires sur Venfance de Napoleon. Paris, 1852. 

(&) REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 

F. A. AuLARD. The French Revolution, a political history, 1 789-1 804. 4 Vols. Trans. 

by B. Miall. London, 1910. 
Norwood Young. The Growth of Napoleon. London, 1910. 

C. F. Warwick. Napoleon and the End of the French Revolution. London, 1910. 
C. J. Fox. Napoleon Bonaparte and the Siege of Toulon. Washington, 1902. 
J. CoiriN. L'iducation miliiaire de Napoleon. Paris, 1900. 
P. CoxTiN. Toulon et les Anglais en 1793. Paris, 1898. 
J. D0 Teii,. Napoleon Buonaparte et les genSraux. Paris, 1897. 
LETy. Buonaparte d, Valence. Tournon, 1898. 

Bois. NapoUon Buonaparte, lieutenant d'artillerie d Auxonne. Paris, 1898. 
Maurice Jotxivet. La Revolution frangaise en Corse. Paris, 1892. 
LETXERON. Piices et documents pour servir d I'histoire de la Corse, pendant la R^jolution 

frangaise. 
Spenser Wii<kinson. Napoleon, the First Phase (in Owens College Historical Essays). 

(c) THE CONSULATE AND EMPIRE- 

A. VANDAiy. L'avenement de Bonaparte. 2 Vols. Paris, 1902-3. [La genise du consulat : 

Brumaire, La constitution de Van VIII.). 
F. Masson. Napoleon and his Coronation (trans, by F. Cobb). London, 19x1. 
F. A. Aui,ard. Paris sous le consulat. Paris, 1903. 
H. A. Taine. Les origines de la France contemporaine : La Revolution. 6 Vols. Paris, 

1875-94 (Vol. IV.). 
¥i,I^lX ROCQUAIN. L'etat de la France au 18 brumaire. Paris, 1874. 
A. C. Thibaudeau. Le Consulat et I'Empire, 1799-1815. 10 Vols. Paris, 1834-5. 
Thiers. Histoire du Consulat et de I'Empire. 21 Vols. Paris, 1845-69. 
J. Pei,ET de i,a Loz]feRE. Opinions de NapoUon. Paris, 1833. 
Lewis Goi,dsmixh. Secret History of the Cabinet of Bonaparte. London, 1810. 
Marrin. a View of Modern France. London, 1803. 
StewarTon. Secret History of the Court and Cabinet of St. Cloud. 3 Vols. London, 1806. 

3rd edn. 2 Vols. London, 1895. 
Wli,r,lAMS. State of France (1802-6^. 2 Vols. London, 1807. 
Warsley. Account of the State of France (1802). 2 Vols. London, 1804. 
E- MONNET. Histoire de I' Administration. Paris, 1885. 
PERouse. NapoUon Premier et les lois civiles. Paris, 1866. 
H. Wei,SCHINGER. La censure sous le premier Empire. Paris, 1882. 
H. A. L. Fisher. Studies in Napoleonic statesmanship — Germany. Oxford, 1903 . 
OSCAR Browning. England and Napoleon in 1803. London, 1887. 
E. GuinoN. Les Complots Militaires. Paris, 1894. 

(d) ELBA. 

Norwood Young. Napoleon in Exile at Elba (1814-15). London, 1914. 

1\ Gruyer. NapoUon, roi de Vile d'Elbe. 1906. 

Sir N. Campbei<L. Napoleon at Fontainebleau and Elba. London, 1869. 

H. D WOLPP. The Island Empire. London, 1855. 

A. Barginet. Le Grenadier de I'ile d'Elbe. Brussels, 1830. 

J. FabrE. De Fontainebleau a I'ile d'Elbe. Paris, 1887. 

Pons de i,'HERAUi<T. Souvenir et anecdotes de I'ile d'Elbe. Paris, 1897. 

Napoleon's Last Voyages. Ed. by J. Holland Rose. 2nd edn. London, 1906. 

(e) ST. HELENA. 

Norwood Young. Napoleon in Exile at St. Helena. London, 19 15. 
Sir W. Runciman. The Tragedy of St. Helena. London, 1911. 
CivEMENT Shorter. Napoleon in his own Defence. London, 19 10. 

A. Cahnet. Apris le mort de I'empereur. Paris, 191 3. 

482 



Select Classified Bibliography 

A. Chapi,in. The illness and death of Napoleon Bonaparte. 191 3. 
,, ,, A St. Helena Who's Who. I^ondon, 1914. 

I^ORD RoSEBERY. Napoleon, the Last Phase. I^ondon, 1900. 

B. O'Meara. Napoleon in Exile. 2 Vols. 4th edn. I/ondon, 1822. 
J. Hoi,i,ANr) Rose. Napoleon's Detention at St. Helena. 1902. 

Sir Frederick Maiti^and. Narrative of the Surrender of Bonaparte. Ivondon, 1826. New 

edn., 1904. 
A. ArnoM, M.D. An Account of the last Illness . . . of Napoleon Bonaparte. London, 

1822. 
Sir G. Cockbxjrn. Buonaparte's Voyage to St. Helena. Ivondon, 1888. 
W. Forsyth. History of the Captivity of Napoleon at .St. Helena. 3 Vols. I<ondon, 1853. 
P. FrSmeaux. NapoUon prisonnier. Eng. trans, by E. S. Stokoe. London, 1902. 
G. GoURGAUD. Sainte-HSUne : Journal inidite de 1815 d, 1818. 2 Vols. Paris, 1899. 

(/) private; LIFB. {See also Memoirs, Section VI.) 

A. Guii,l,olS. Napoleon, I'homme, la politique, I'orateur. 2 Vols. Paris, 1889. 

A. IttvY. Napoleon Intime. Paris, 1893. Trans, by S. L. Simeon. 2 Vols. London, 

1894. 
F. Masson. Napoleon and the Fair Sex. London, 1896. 
TiGHE Hopkins. The Women Napoleon Loved. 1910. 

III.-ANGESTRY AND FAMILY 

{a) GBNBALOGY. 

D. MoraLI. Storia Genealogica delta famiglia Bonaparte. Florence, 1846. 

CoiyONNA DE Cesari Rocca. La verity suv le$ Bonapartes avant Napoleon. Paris, 1899. 

Coi,i,E. Genealogia della famiglia Bonaparte. Florence, 1898. 

L. Ambrosini and A. Huard. La Famille Imperiale. Histoire de la famille Bonaparte 

de Van 1050 ct Van 1848. Paris, 1866. 
LxnGi Passerini. Della origine della famiglia Bonaparte. Florence, 1856. 
Baron H. Larrey. Madame Mere. 2 Vols. Paris, 1892. 
C. TSCHUDI. Napoleon's Mother (trans, by E. M. Cope). London, 1900. 

(6) BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 

A. DU Casse. Les Rois freres de Napoleon. Paris, 1883. 

A. HHWARD ATTERIDGE. Napoleon's Brothers. London, 1909. 

H. N. Wii,i,iAMS. The Women Bonapartes. 2 Vols. London, 1908. 

A. DU Casse. M&moires et correspondance du roi Jirdme et de la reine Catherine. 7 Vols. 

Paris, 1861-6. 
Phii,ip W. Sergeant. The Burlesque Napoleon : Life and Kingship of Jerome. London, 

1905. 
J. TuRQUAN. Les soeurs de NapoUon. Paris, 1896, Eng. trans, by "W. R. H. Trowbridge. 
Joseph Bonaparte. Memoires. 10 Vols. Paris, 1853-4. 
F. RocQUAiN. Napoleon /«'" et le Roi Louis. Paris, 1875. 
F. Masson. NapoUon et sa famille. 4 Vols. Paris, 1 897-1 900. 
T. Jung. Lucien Bonaparte et ses M6moires. 3 Vols. Paris, 1882-3. 
P. MarmoThan Elisa Bonaparte. Paris, 1898. 

(c) MARRIAGES. 

J. TuRQUAN. The Empress Josephine (trans, by V. M. Montagu;. London, 1913. 
F. Masson, Josiphine. Paris, 1899. 

,, ,, Lettres de NapoUon cl Josephine. Paris. 1833. Eng. trans. 
Hon. D. a. Bingham. The Marriages of the Bonapartes. London, 1881. 
H. WEtSCHlNGER. Le divorce de NapoUon. Paris, 1889. 
F. Masson. Josephine repudiie. 3rd edn. Paris, 1901. 
J. A, HEI,EERT. Marie Louise, Kaiserin. Vienna, 1873. 
A. Vandai,. Lettres des Berthier (in " Carnet historique "). 1898. 
A. Fournier. Marie Luise und der sturz NapoUons (Revue Hist.). 1903. 

{d) CHILDREN. 

L. Ambrosini and A. Huard. [See above, III. a.) 

F. Masson. [See above, III. h.) 

C. TSCHUDI. Napoleon's son (trans, by E. M. Cope). London, 1912. 

I. A. Tayt,or. Queen Hortense and her friends. 2 Vols. London, 1907. 

EuGfeNE DE BEAUHARnais. MSmoires. Paris, 1858-60. 

483 



Select Classified Bibliography 

IV.— ENTOURAGE 

(a) MARSHALS AND GENERALS. 
Lacroix, D. Les Marichaux de Napoleon. Paris, 1896. 
Beauharnais, Eugene de. [See III. d.) 

Prim Eugen, Herzog von Leuchtenberg, in den Feldziigen seiner Zeit. By F. J. A. 

Sdmeidawind. Stockholm, 1857. 
BernadoTTE, J. B., Crown Prince of Sweden. 

Correspondance avec NapoUon (1810-4). Paris, 1819. 

B. Sarrans. Hisioire de Bernadotte, Charles XIV. — Jean roi de Suide et de Norvdge. 

2 Vols. Paris, 1845. 

I/. Pingaud. Bernadotte, Napoleon, et les Bourbons (i 797-1 844). Paris, 1901. 

C. Schefer. Bernadotte roi. Paris, 1899. 

BERTHIER, MaRvSHAI,. 

Le niar^chal Berthier, prince de Wagram, By General Derrecagaix. Paris ; Pt. I. 

(to 1804), 1904 ; Pt. II., 1905. 

BESSIjfeRES, MARSHAI,. 

Le marechal Bessieres, due d'Istrie. By A. Rabel. Paris, 1903. 

Brune, Marshai,. 

Correspondance. Edited by Sturler. Archiv fUr schweizerische Geschichte. Vols. 

XII .-XV. 

Les campagnes de 1799. Jourdain en Allemagne et Brune en Hollande. By E, Gachot. 

Paris, 1906. 

Le marechal Brune et la marMiale Brune. By P. Marmoiton. Paris, 1900. 

Davout, Marshai,. 

Correspondance (1801-15). Edited by C. de Mazade. 4 Vols. Paris, 1885. 

Correspondance inidite {1790-1815). Edited by the Marquise de Blocqueville. Paris, 

1887. 

Le marechal D. raconte par les siens et par lui-meme. By the Marquise de Blocqueville. 

4 Vols. Paris, 1879-80. 

Histoire de la vie du marichal Davoiit. By L. J. Gabriel de Chenier. Paris, 1866. 

Davout. By Comte Vigier. 2 Vols. Paris, 1898, 

Dessaix, General. 

By J. Dessaix and La FoUiot. Paris, 1879. 

Dumas, Generai,, Comte M. 

Souvenirs (1770-1836). Edited by his son. 3 Vols. Paris, 1839. 

GouviON vST. Cyr, Marshai,. 

Memoires. 4 Vols. Paris, 1 830-1. 

Grouchy, Marshai,. 

Mi^moires. Edited by the Marquise de Grouchy. 5 Vols. Paris, 1873-4. 

Jourdan, Marshal. 

Memoires militaires (guerre d'Espagne). 2 Vols. Paris, 1899. 

JuNoT, General. 

Memoires de duchesse d'Abrantes. 18 Vols. Paris, 1831-4. Eng. trans. 8 Vols. 

London, 1835. 3 Vols. London, 1883. 

— La generate Junot, duchesse d'Abrantes. By J. Turquan. Paris, 1901. 

Lannes, Marshal. 

Le marechal Lannes. By General Thoumas. Paris, 1891. 

Lecourbe, General. 

Le g&n&ral Lecourbe, d'apres ses archives et sa correspondance. By General Philebert, 

Paris, 1896. 
Lef^bvre, Marshal. 

Le marechal Lefebvre. By J. Wirth. Paris, 1904. 

Macdonald, Marshal. 

Souvenirs. Edited by C. Rousset. Paris, 1892. 

Recollections of Macdonald. Edited by C Rousset. Eng. trans, by S. L. Simeon. 

2 Vols. London, 1892. 
Marbot, General. 

Memoires. 3 Vols. Paris, 1891. Eng. trans, by A. J. BuTLER. 2 Vols. London, 1892. 

Marmont, Marshal. 

Memoires du due de Raguse, 1792-1832. 9 Vols. Paris, 1856-7. 

Masse;na, Marshal. 

MSmoires. Edited by General Koch. 7 Vols. Paris, 1848-50. 

Hisioire jnilitaire de Massena. By E. Gachot. 4 Vols. Paris, 1901-13. 

Moreau, General J- V. 

Vie politique, militaire et privie du gfniral Moreau. By A. de Beauchamp. Paris, 1814. 

Le general Moreau. By J. Dontenville. Paris, 1899. 

L'exil et la mort du general Moreau. By E. Daudet. Paris, 1909. 

484 



Select Classified Bibliography 

MORTIER, MARSHA!,. 

Notice sur le Marechal. (Anon.) Cambrai, 1838. 

Campagne de 1805, la corps d'armee aux ordres du marechal Mortier. By Alombert. 

Paris, 1897. 
MuRAT, Joachim, Marsh ai, ; King of Naples. 

Correspondance, 1791-1808. Edited by A. Lumbroso, Turin, 1899. (Later correspon- 

dence is in the Archives Nationales, Paris.) 

Life. By Iv. de Gallois. Paris, 1828. 

Joachim Murat. By J. Chavanon and G. Saint -Yves. Paris, 1905. 

Joachim Murat, Marshal of France and King of Naples. By A. Hilliard Atteridge, 

Ivondon, 1911. 
NEY, Marshal. 

MSmoires. 2 Vols. Paris, 1833. 

La vie militaire du marichal Ney. By Gen. H. Bonnal. 2 Vols. Paris, igio-ii. 

Life. By A. Rouval. Paris, 1833. 

The Bravest of the Brave. By A. Hilliard Atteridge. London, 1912. 

OUDINOT, MARSHAI,. 

Oudinot ; d'apres les souvenirs midits de la marichale. By G. Stiegler. Paris, 1894. 

Life. By J. NoUet-Pabert. Paris, 1850. 

Rapp, Generai,. 

Memoires (1772-1821). Edited by Lacroix. Paris, 1896. 

SouivT, Marshai,. 

• Life. By A. Combes. Castres, 1870. 

Campagne du marechal Soult dans les Pyrenees. By J. C. Clark. Paris, 1894. 

SucHET, Marshal. 

Mimoires (1808-14). Edited by St. Cyr-Naques. 2 Vols. Paris, 1828. 

Vandamme, General. 

Vandamme et sa Correspondance. By A. du Casse. Paris. 1870. 

Victor, Victor -Perrin, Claude, dit, Marshal. 

M6moires inedites. Paris, 1846. 

(6) POLITICS, COURT, AND SOCIETY. 

F. A. AuLARD. Paris sous la Consulat. Paris, 1903. 

Lewis Goldsmith. Secret History of the Cabinet of Bonaparte. London, 1810. 
StewarTon. Secret History of the Court and Cabinet of St. Cloud. 3 Vols. London, 1806. 
Paul Bondois. NapoUon et la sociiti de son temps, 1793-1821. Paris, 1895. 
ViCOMTE DE Broc. La vie en France sous le premier Empire. Paris, 1895. 

G. StengER. La sociit& franfaise pendant la Consulat. 6 Vols. Paris, 1903-08 

(See also Section VI., Memoirs, especially AbrantI^s, Barras, ChapTal. 
Desmarest, Durand, Fauriel, FoucHfi. Meneval, Rbicamier, Re;musat, 
TalI/Eyrand, Thibaudeau.) 

v.— MILITARY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS 

{a) THE ARMY. 
I. MoRVAN. Le soldat imperial, 1800-1814. 2 Vols. Paris, 1904. 
E. Blaze. La vie militaire sous le premier Empire. 2 Vols. Paris, 1837. 

D. Belhomme. Histoire de Vinfanterie en France (Vol IV., 1792-1815). Paris, 1899, 

L. PiCARD. La cavalerie dans les guerres de la Rivolution et de I' Empire. 2 Vols, Saumur, 
1895-6. 

(6) MILITARY CAMPAIGNS. 
General. 

C. T. Beauvais (Ed.). Victoires, conquites, desastres, revues des Frangais de 1792 i 1815. 

27 Vols. Paris, 1817-22. 
C. Vallaux. Les campagnes des Armies frangaises (1792-1815), Paris, 1899. 
MaTTHIEU Dumas. Pricis des evinements militaire, ou essais sur les campagnes 1799-1814. 

19 Vols, and Atlas. Paris, 1817-26. 
YORCK VON Wartenburg. Napoleon as a General. Eng. trans. 2 Vols. London, 1902. 

See also Section I., especially Alison, Holland Rose, and Lanfrey, 

Italian Campaigns of 1796-7 and 1800. 

E. Gachot. Histoire militaire de la 7« campagne d' Italic (1795-8). Paris, 1901. 

F. BouviER. Bonaparte en Italic, 1796. Paris, 1899, 

Paul GafferEL. Bonaparte et les rSpubliques italiennes (1796-9). Paris, 1895. 
Geo. Hooper. Italian Campaigns of Bonaparte, 1796-7 and 1800. London, 1859. 

G. Fabry. Histoire de I'armie d' Italic (1796-7). 3 Vols. Paris, 1900-01. 

See also Section I., especially Holi,and Rose and Alison ; and Section II., Colin. 

2 F* 485 



Select Classified Bibliography 

Carlo G. G. BoTta. History of Italy during the Consulate and Empire of Napoleon. Eng. 

trans. 2 Vols. I/ondon, 1828. 
R. M. Johnston. The, Napoleonic Empire in Southern Italy. 2 Vols. I^ondon, 1904. 
Edouard DriaulX. Etudes napoUoniennes : NapoUon en Italie (1800-12). Paris, 1906. 

Egyptian Campaign, 1798-9. 

Gen. H. G. Bertrand (E;d.). Guerre d' Orient : Campagnes d'Egypte et Syrie, 1798-9; 

memoir es pour servir d, I'histoire de Napol&on dictes par lui-mime d Ste. Heline. 

2 Vols. Paris, 1847. 
C. DE La Jonqui^re. L'expedition d'Egypte, 1798-1801. 5 Vols. Paris, 1899-1904. 
Sir R. T. Whson. History of the British Expedition to Egypt. London, 1803. (Largely 

compiled from the narratives of captured French officers.) 
Martin. Histoire de ^expedition en Egypte. Paris, 1815. 
J. F. MiOT Memoir es pour servir a I'histoire des expeditions en Egypte et en Syrie. 2nd 

edn. Paris, 1814. 
Sir J. M. BuRGOYNE. Short History of the Operations in Egypt, 1798-1802. London, 1885. 
A. Boui^AY^ DE l,A Meurthe. Le Directoire et l'expedition d'Egypte. Paris, 1885. 
B,. Desbriere. Probsts et tentatives de debarquements aux lies Britanniques , 1 793-1 805. 

4 Vols. Paris, 1900-02. 
La FoUQUii;RE. Expedition d'Egypt. Paris, 1901. 
Gai,i,i. L'armee frangaise en Egypt. 1904. 
A. T. Mahan. Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire. 2 Vols. 

London, 1893. 

The Austerlitz Campaign, 1805. 

Coi,. G. A. FuRSE. Ulm, Trafalgar, Austerlitz. London, 1905. 
Baron K. DE StuTTERHEIM. La Bataille d' Austerlitz . Hamburg, 1805. 
Kari< Sch5nhai,S. Der Krieg von 1805 in Deutschland und Italien. Fauenfeld, 1853. 
P. C. Ai,OMBERT et J. CowN. La Campagne de 1805 en Allemagne. 4 Vols. Paris, 1902. 
GenERAI, G. Petit. Histoire des Campagnes de I'Empereur Napoleon en 1805-07. Paris, 
1843. 

The Jena Campaign, 1806. 

C. VON DER Goi<TZ, Roszhach und Jena. Berlin, 1883. 

P. FouCART. La campagne de Prusse en 1806. 2 Vols. (Vol. I., Jena ; Vol. II., Prenzlow- 

Liibeck). Paris, 1887-go. 
Gen. E). von Hopener. Geschichte des Krieges von 1806 und 1807. 4 Vols. Berlin, 1855. 
Le Mar^chai, Louis N. Davout. Operations du 3^ corps, 1806-7. Ed. by his nephew. 

Paris, 1896. 
Gen. H. Bonnajc. La manoeuvre d' Jena. Paris, 1904. 
O. von LETTow-Vorbeck. Der Krieg von 1806 u. 1807. 4 Vols. (Vol. I., Jena u. Auerstedt). 

Berlin, 1892-9. 
F. N. Maude. The Jena Campaign, 1806. London, 1909. 
F. L. Petre. Napoleon's Conquest of Prussia, 1806 (with Introd. by Lord Roberts). 

London, 1907. 

See also Memoirs of Grouchy, Section IV. (a). 

Eylau and Friedland Campaign, 1807. 

F. L. Petre. Napoleon's Campaign in Poland. London, 1901. 

P. FoucarT. Campagne de Pologne. Paris, 1882. 

Sir R. T. Wii,son. Brief Remarks on the Russian Army . . . and a sketch of the Campaign 

in Poland, 1806-7. London, 1810. 
M. DERODE. Nouvelle Relation de la Bataille de Friedland. Paris, 1839. 
F. vON SCHACHTMEYER. Die Schlocht bei Preussisch-Eylau. Berlin, 1857. 

The War of 1809 — Wagram, Aspern-Bssling. 

C. G. L. Saski. Campagne de 1809 en Allemagne et en Autriche. 3 Vols. Paris, 1 899-1 902. 

Castei,I(ANE. Journal du marichal. Paris, 1885. 

Archduke Chari,ES. Relazion von der Schlacht von Aspern. Vienna, 1809. 

J. J. G. Pei,ET. Mimoires sur la guerre de 1809 en Allemagne. 4 Vols. Paris, 1824-6. 

F. VON HEUWAJCD. Der Feldzug von 1809. Vienna, 1864. 

CoMTE DE Laborde. Precis historiques de la guerre de 1809. Paris, 1893. 

Baron K. de StuTTERHEIm. Der Krieg von 1809. Vienna, 1891. 

The Peninsular War, 1808-14. 

C. W. C. Oman. History of the Peninsular War. 6 Vols. (Vol. I., 1807-9, 1902 ; Vol. II., 
Jan.-Sept., 1809, 1903 ; Vol. III., Sept. i8og-Dec. 1810, 1908 ; Vol. IV., Dec. 
iSio-Dec. 1811, 1911 ; Vol. V., Oct. 1811-31 Aug., 1812, 1914 ; Vol. VI., in prog.). 

486 



Select Classified Bibliography 

Commandant BaIvAGNy. Campagne de I'empereuv Napoleon en Espagne, 1808-9. (French 

Staff History.) 5 Vols. Paris, 1902-7. 
GitN. Sir Wm. Napikr. History of the War in the Peninsula and the South of France, 1807-14. 

6 Vols. London, 1828-40. 
Lewis BuTi^ER. Wellington's Operations in the Peninsula, 1808-14. 2 Vols. London, 1904. 
Col. A. DEI/AGRA VE. La Campagne de Portugal, 1810-11. Paris, 1902. 
Sir John Moore. Diary. Vol. II. Ed. by Major-Gen. Sir J. F. Maurice. 2 Vols. 

London, 1904. 
James Moore. Narrative of the Campaign of Sir John Moore. London, 1809. 
Gen. M. Foy. Histoire de la Guerre de la P&ninsule, 1808. 4 Vols. Paris, 1827. 
MarjSchai, L. G. Suchet. Mimoires sur ses campagnes en Espagne, 1808-14. Paris, 1829. 
Marquis of Londonderry, Narrative of th? Peninsular War, 1808-12. 2 Vols. London, 

1828. 
Jos6 C. ARGt'ELLES. ObservaHones sabre la histona de la Guerra de Espana. London, 1829. 

See also Memoirs, etc., of Marmont, MaSSEIna, SuchET, etc. Section IV. {a). 

Russian Campaign, 1812. 

L. J. Margueron. Campagne de Russie. (French Staff History.) 4 Vols. Paris, 1897- 

1906. 
G. Fabry. Campagne de Russie. (French Staff History.) 5 Vols. Paris, 1900-03. 
G:6n. ComTE P. P. DE SjSgur. Histoire de NapolSon et de la Grand Armie pendant I'annSe 

1812. 2 Vols. Paris, 1825. Eng. trans, 2 Vols. London, 
1825. 
Histoireet Mimoires {Yols.lY. and v.). 8 Vols. Paris, 1873. 
Sir R. T. Whson. Narrative of Events during Invasion of, and Retreat from, Russia, 181 2. 

London, i860. 
Due DE Fezensac. Journal de la campagne de Russie, 1812. Paris, 1850. 
G. DE VaudoncourT. Mimoires pour servir d, V histoire de la guerre entre la France et la 

Russie en 1812. London, 1815. 
Admirai, p. V. TcHiTCHAGOPF. Memoires inedits de I'amiral : Campagnes de la Russie en 

1812 contre la Turquie, I'Autriche, et la France. Berlin, 1855. 
H. B. George. Napoleon's Invasion of Russia. London, 1899. 
ViSCOUNX Woi,SEi,EY. The Decline and Fall of Napoleon. London, 1895. 
V. VerESTChagin. 1812 : Napoleon I. in Russia. Eng. trans. London, 1899. 
Count Leo Toi^stoy. Physiologie de la guerre : NapoUon et la campagne de Russie. Fr. 

trans, by M. Delines. Paris, 1888. 

War of Liberation : Liitzen, Bautzen, 1813-14. 

The literature connected with this campaign is very extensive : for fuller lists see Camb. 
Mod. Hist., Vol. IX., bibliog. to ch. XVII (pp. 858-867), and Fournier's NapoUon I., 
bibliog. to ch. XVII. 

W. Zei,i<E. 1813 : Preussens Volkerfrilhling. Brunswick and Leipzig, 1905. 
C. L. M. Lanrezac. La manoeuvre de Liitzen. Paris, 1904, 
G, Ci<:6menT. Campagne de 1813. Paris, 1904. 
I. MORVAN. Le soldat Imperial, 1800-14. 2 Vols. Paris, 1904. 

W. Oncken. Oesterreich und Preussen im Befreiungskriege. 2 Vols. Berlin, 1876-9. 
Baron A. J. Y. Fain. Manuscrit de I' an 1813. 2 Vols. Paris, 1824. 
G. CaThcart. Commentaries on the War in Russia and Germany in 1812 and 181 3, 

London, 1850. 
J. B. A. CharraS. Histoire de la guerre 1813 en Allemagne. Paris, 1870. 
YORCK von Wartenburg, Pricis militaire de la campagne de 1813 en Allemagne. 

Leipzig, 1 88 1. 
P. T. FouCART. Bautzen : une bataille de deux jours. Paris, 1897. 

,, ,, Bautzen : la poursuite jusqu'A I' armistice 22 mai-4 juin. Paris, 1901. 

Eari, of Westmori,and. Operations of the allied armies under Schwarzenberg and Blucher, 

1813-14. London, 1822. 
G. von Schimpf. 1813 : Napoleon in Sachsen. Dresden, 1894. 

Leipsic Campaigns, 1813 {see also War of Liberation, above). 

R. Schneider. Das Kriegsjahr, 1813. Leipzig, 1848. 

G. R. Gleig. The Leipsic Campaign. London, 1852. 

H. von Aster. Die Schlachten bei Leipzig. 1856. 

WUTTKE, H. Die Volkerschlacht bei Leipzig. Berlin, 1863. 

K, Bi^EiBTREU. Napoleon bei Leipzig. Berlin, 1885. 

E. Pieirron. NapoUon, de Dresde ci Leipzig. Paris, 1891. 

Granard. StratSgie NapoUonienne. Paris, 1897. 

Frederic Natusch Maude. The Leipzig Campaign, 1813. London, 1908, 

487 



Select Classified Bibliography 

The Campaign in France, 1814. 

FRAN901S Koch. MSmoires pour servir d I'histoire de la campagne de 1814. 2 Vols. Paris, 

1819. 
E. FivEURY. Histoire de I' invasion de 181 4. Paris, 1858. 
H. HousSAYE. 1814 : Paris, 1888. 

M. H. Weii,. La campagne de 1814. 4 Vols. 1891-5. 
Bonnier. Les premiers combats de 1814. Paris, 1895. 
BerTIN. La campagne de 1814. Paris, 1897. 

See also Section IV. {a) Macdonai,d, MarmonT, and Section VI., LavEI^ETXE. 

The Waterloo Campaign, 1815. 

C. W. C. Oman. Wellington's Army. Tvondon, 1913. 

W. Hughes Kelly. The Battle of Wavre and Grouchy' s Retreat. I,ondon, 1905. 

H. HousSAYE. 1815 : 3 Vols. (I., La premiere Restauration, Les Cent Jours ; II., Waterloo ; 

III., La seconde Abdication de Napoleon). Paris, 1893-1905. 
W. Siborne. History of the War in France and Belgium. 2 Vols. Ivondon, 1844. 
W. Morris. The Campaign of 1815. Ivondon, 1900. 
J. Holland Rose. Napoleonic Studies. London, 1904. 
Col. Chesney. Waterloo Lectures. I^ondon, 1868. 
B. H. R. CapafiguE. Les Cents Jours. Paris, 1841. 
Gen. K. von Clausewitz. Der Feldzug von 1815. Berlin, 1835. 
B. Constant. M^moires sur les Cent Jours. 2 Vols. Paris, 1820-22. 
CoMTE Grouchy. Relation succincte de la campagne de 1815, etc. Paris, 1819-29. 

(c) <phe; navy and naval actions. 

B. JuRiEN DE La Gravl^re. Guerres maritimes sous la Republique et I'Empire. 2 Vols. 

Paris, n.d. 
L. GuilRlN. Histoire maritime de la France. 6 Vols. Paris, 185 1-2. 

C. Chabaud-Arnault. Histoire des flottes militaires. Paris, 1889. 

Sir W. L. Clowes. The Royal Navy. Vol. V. 7 Vols. London, 1897-1903. 

E. Chevalier. Histoire de la marine Jranpaise sous le Consulat et I'Empire. Paris, 1886. 

M. Loir. Etudes d' histoire maritime. Paris, 1901. 

O. Troude. Batailles navales de la France. 4 Vols. Paris, 1867. 

A. \F. Mahan. The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire. 2 Vols. 

London, 1893. 
rear-Admiral Jackson. Logs of the Great Sea-fights. (Vol. II.) (Navy Records Society.) 

London, 1900. 
Admiral P. H. Colomb. Naval Warfare. London, 1891. 
J. Charnock. History of Marine Architecture. 3 Vols. London, 1802. 

VI.— MEMOIRS 

See also Section IV. (a) for Memoirs, etc., of Napoleon's Marshals and Generals. 
ABRANT:fes, Laure Junot, nee Permon, Duchesse de. Mimoires ou Souvenirs Historiaues. 
18 Vols. Paris, 1831-4. Eng. trans. 8 Vols. London, 1835. 3 Vols. London. 



li 



Histoire des Salons de Paris. 6 Vols. Paris. 1837-8. 

Memoirs of Napoleon, his Court and Family. Eng. trans. 2 Vols. London, 1836. 

Souvenirs d'une ambassade en Espagne et en Portugal, 1 808-11. 2 Vols. Brussels, 

Mimoires : Souvenirs intimes sur NapoUon Bonaparte, 1769-1801. Paris, 1810. 

Andigne, L. M. a. F., ComTE de. Mimoires : 1765-1857. With Introd. and notes by E. 

Eire. 2 Vols. Paris, 1 900-01. 
Barante, a. G. p. Brugi^re, Baron de. Souvenirs. Vols. I., II. 8 Vols. Paris. 

1890-1901. 
Barras, Vicomte de. M6m.oires. Ed. by A. R. Corbeau de Saint-Albin. 4 Vols. (I.. 

Ancien R&gime — Revolution; II., Le Directoire jusqu'au 18 fruct. ; III., Le 

Directoire du \8 fruct. — 18 brum.; IV., Consulat, Empire, Restauration ; Index). 

Paris, 1895-6. Eng. trans. 4 Vols. London, 1895-6. 
BausseT, Baron de. Mimoires sur I'interieur du Palais, etc., 1805-14, pour servir ci I'his- 

toire de Napoleon. 4 Vols. Paris, 1827-8. Eng. trans. Philadelphia, 1828. 
BEUGNoT, J. C, Comte. Mimoires, 1783-1815. 2 Vols. Paris, 1866. 
BouLAY, DE LA Meurthe, Comte. Theorie constitutionnelle de Sieyis extraite des Mimoires. 

Paris. 1836. (The Comte's Mimoires were privatelv printed in Paris in 1863.) 
BrogliE, Due DE. Souvenirs, 1785-1870. 4 Vols. Paris, 1886. ^j 
Cavaignac, Madame. Les Mimoires d'une inconnue ; publ. sur lehns. original, 1780-1816. 

Paris, 1894. ^ W 

ChapTal, J. A., Comte de Chanteloup. Mes souvenirs sur NapoUon. Paris, 1893. 

488 



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Chastenay, Madame de. Memoires, 1771-1815. 2 Vols. Paris, 1896. 

Chateaubriand, F. R., Vicomte de. Memoires d'outve-tomhe. Vols. I.-III. 12 Vols. 

Paris, 1849-50. 
Desmarest, p. M. C. Timoignages historiques, ou Quinze ans de haute police sous le 

Consulat et de V Empire. Paris, 1833. New edn. by Grasilier and Savine, Paris 

1900. 
DuRAND, Mjie. Sophie. Mes souvenirs sur Napoleon. 2 Vols. Paris, 1819. New edn., 

entitled Memoires sttr Napoleon et Marie-Louise, 1810-14. Paris, 1886. Eng. 

trans. London, 1886. 
Fauriei,, C. C. Les derniers joura du Consulat. Ed. by L. Lalanne. Paris, 1886. 
Fouche;, J., Due d'OTRANTE. Authentic Memoirs of the public life of FoucJd. Anon. Eng. 

trans. 2nd edn. London, 1818. 

Mimoires. 2 Vols. Paris. 1824. Eng. trans. London, 1892. 

HAUTPOur,, Marquise Amand d'. Souvenirs sur la Revolution, I'Empire, et la Restauration. 

Ed. by Comte Flenry. Paris, 1904. 
Hyde de NeuviIvI,e, G., Baron. Mimoires et Souvenirs. Vol. I. 3 Vols. Paris, 1888-92. 
Lavai<etxe, a. M. J., Chamans, Comte de. MSmoires et Souvenirs. 2 Vols. Paris, 1831, 

Eng. trans. 2 Vols. London, 1831 ; reprtd. 1894. 
Menevai,, C. F., Baron de. Napoleon et Marie-Louise. Souvenirs historiques. 3 Vols. 

Paris, 1843-5. New edn., entitled Mhnoires pour servir a I'histoire de Napoleon I., 

1802-15. 3 Vols. Paris, 1894. Eng. trans, by R. H. Sherard. 3 Vols. London, 1894. 
MioT DE M^LITO, A. F., CoMTE. Memoires. 3 Vols. Paris, 1858. Eng. trans. New 

York, 1 88 1. 
Mox^UEN, F. N., Comte. Memoires d'un ministre du tresor publique (1780-1815). 4 Vols. 

Paris, 1845. 3 Vols. Paris, 1898. 
NORVINS, J. Marquet de Montbreton, Baron de. Souvenirs d'un historien de Napoleon : 

memoires de NapoUon (1769-1810). Ed. with notes, etc., by L. de Lanzac de 

Laborie. Vols. II., III. 3 Vols. Paris, 1896-7. 
OUVRARD, G. J. Mimoires sur sa Vie et ses diverses Operations Financieres. 3 Vols. 

Paris. 1826. 
Pasouier, B. D., Due. Historic de mon temps. Memoires. Ed. by Due d'Audiffret-Pasquier 

6 Vols. Paris, 1893-4. Eng. trans, by C. E. Roche. 3 Vols. London, 1893-4. 
Pei,ET, de i,a Lozeire J., Baron. Opinions de Napoleon. Paris, 1833. Eng. trans. 

Edinburgh, 1837. 
Ponte;coui,anT, L. G. LE DoulcET, Comte de. Souvenirs Historiques et Parlementaires. 

Vol. I. 4 Vols. Paris, 1861-5. 
Rambuteau, C. p. BarThEI,ot, Comte de. Memoires. Ed. by his grandson. Paris, 1905. 

Eng. trans, by J. C. Brogan. London, 1908. 
RilCAMiER, Madame. Souvenirs et Correspondance. 1 Vols. Paris, 1859. Eng. trans. 

2 Vols. London, 1887. 

Relations secretes des agents de Louis XVIII. a Paris sous le Consulat. Edited by 

Comte Remade. Paris, 1899. 
ReJmusaT, Mme. de. Memoires 1802-8. Ed. by her son. 3 Vols. Paris, 1879-80. Eng. 
trans. 2 Vols. London, 1881. 

Lettres, 1804-14. 2 Vols. Paris. 1881. Eng. trans. London, 1881. 

RoviGO, Savary, a. J. M. R., Due de. Mimoires sur I'Empereur Napoleon. 8 Vols. 

Paris, 1828. Eng. trans. 4 Vols. London, 1828. 
SfiGUR, P. P., Comte de. Histoire et Mimoires. 8 Vols. Paris, 1873-7. Eng. trans. 

London, 1895, i8g6. 
Stael. Madame de. Considerations sur les princ. evinements de la Revolution frangaise. 

3 Vols. Paris, 1818. Eng. trans. 3 Vols. London, 1818. 

Dix annies d'exil. Paris, 1821. Eng. trans. London, 1821. 

Tai,i<eyrand. Mimoires. Edited by the Due de Broglie. 5 Vols. Paris, 1891-2. Eng. 
trans, by R. Ledos de Beaufort. 5 Vols. London, 1 891-2. 

Correspondance diplomatique et le Minister e de Talleyrand sous le Directoire. Ed. by 

G. Pallain. 2 Vols. Paris, 1889-91. 

Lettres inidiies de Talleyrand a NapoUon (1800-9). Ed. by P. Bertrand. Paris, 1889. 

Thibaudeau. a. C, Comte. Mimoires sur le Consulat. 2 Vols. Paris, 1826, Eng. trans. 

by G. K. Fortescue. London, 1898. 

Mimoires sur le Convention et le Directoire. 2 Vols. Paris^, 1824. 

Le Consulat et I'Empire, ou histoire de la France et de Napoleon, 1 799-1 815. 10 Vols. 

Paris, 1834-5. 
Vll,i,EMAIN, A. F. Souvenirs contemporaines d'historie et de litterateur. Vol. I. 2 Vols. 

Paris, 1853-4. 
ViTROi,i,ES, "B. F. A. d'Arnaud, Baron de. Mimoires et relations politiques, 1814-1830. 

Ed. by E. Forgues. Vol. I. 3 Vols. Paris, 1884. 



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